Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing a male incontinence shield for use with a user's undergarment including partially overlapping inner and outer moisture absorbent pad portions coupled together at opposite ends whereby a penile opening is formed to allow normal urination for the lightly incontinent male. Each pad portion comprises an absorbent core with a first relatively thick absorbent portion and a layer of super absorbent material which gels immobilizing the absorbed liquid. A cover encloses the core comprising a moisture permeable body side section and a moisture impermeable garment side section. In one embodiment, for the inner pad portion, the moisture permeable section extends around one side of the pad to form a portion of the garment side section in the region of overlap. Adhesive means attached to the garment side of the shield are provided for securing the shield to the undergarment.

Abstract: A tube coupling having a male body, a female body for receiving at least a portion of the male body and at least one peripheral member made from a relatively compressible plastic material molded into a groove within either the relatively rigid male or female body. The peripheral member is disposed to become compresed against a surface of the mating body to form a liquid seal. At least two peripheral members disposed in grooves in a tubular shaped end portion of the male body are made of a compressible plastic and serve as liquid sealing and locking means. The female body comprises a receiving end portion with a tapered interior adapted to receive the male tubular end portion. As the tubular end portion is inserted into the receiving end portion, one of the peripheral members engages the tapered interior surface and becomes compressed there against as the tubular end portion is further inserted.

Abstract: An amplifier circuit with serially coupled output stages coupled to different level voltage supplies wherein at least the higher voltage-supplied output stages comprise a field effect transistor (FET) device is disclosed. In one embodiment a floating power supply is coupled between V.sub.in and the gate of the FET to provide turn on of the FET at the proper crossover voltage. In another embodiment, control of the FET is provided by a transistor circuit which causes the FET to turn on in response to the instantaneous voltage drop across the lower voltage-supplied output stage.

Abstract: An ECG electrode impedance measuring approach is utilized which can determine, simultaneously, the condition of all electrodes in a three or five lead ECG monitoring configuration. A CPU automatically selects an ECG lead configuration in which all electrodes are attached to the patient and are below an impedance threshold. If the CPU cannot select a good ECG lead configuration, then the CPU signals a total lead failure. Electrode impedance is determined by passing a small DC current through each active electrode and the current is returned via the reference electrode. A comparator tests the resultant offset voltage induced between each active electrode and the reference. If the offset voltage exceeds a fixed threshold, then a flag is set and transferred to the CPU. The CPU can change the ECG lead configuration by issuing commands to an electrode lead switching network.

Abstract: A female incontinence device having a pair of deflectable walls defining a groove at the periphery of the device intended to contact the wearer. The device as seen in plan has a waisted or 8-shaped configuration and the deflectable walls as seen in side elevation have sealing edges each of which is constituted by a pair of continuous curves, one on each side of the central longitudinal axis of the device and which extend from a high point at the front of the device to a high point at the rear of the device. An undercut region is located beneath the deflectable walls to limit any splashing of discharged urine. A gasket or adhesive material can be disposed within the groove.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for providing a sample gas flow from an air tube of a patient undergoing automatic ventilation is disclosed. The air tube includes a gas diffusive membrane disposed in a wall of the air tube. The base of a funnel member is disposed to engage the air tube at the membrane, the area of the base substantially equal to the area of the membrane. The funnel member includes a tubular end portion opposite the base which end portion is disposed to be coupled to a sampling tube or gas monitoring equipment. Cross sectional area of the tubular end portion is substantially smaller than the area of the base. A pump in the gas monitoring system is coupled to the tubular end portion and causes a small portion of the gas in the air tube to pass through the membrane into the funnel. The velocity of the sample gas flow through the membrane is lower than the velocity through the tubular end portion but the sample gas flow rate remains constant.

Abstract: Electronically changing the effective element spacing of an array of acoustic transducer elements between the transmit and receive modes of operation of an ultrasound apparatus results in reducing the deleterious effects of grating lobes present in the pattern of the array because of element spacings in excess of one half of a wavelength. A linear or quadratic time delay distribution, or both simultaneously, is applied to the array for scanning and/or focusing by setting individually the time delay of the energy associated with each element of the array during one mode of operation, e.g. transmit. The array is organized into groups of elements, e.g. pairs, and the time delay distribution is applied by setting the time delay of the energy associated with each group of the array during the remaining mode of operation, e.g. receive.

Abstract: There is disclosed apparatus for keeping two or more distinct groups of data separate from each other within a processor based system. The system employs at least two system areas, where one system area is assigned to have higher priority data than the other. By detecting the priority of a data operation, the lower priority system area is prevented by means of gates from having high priority data written into the lower priority system area. The higher priority system area can read data from the lower priority system area at all times and the lower priority system area can write data into the higher priority system area at all times.

Abstract: A Hall effect device comprises a thin substrate free epitaxially grown semiconductor body mounted in a magnetically permeable, e.g. ferrite, housing. The layer, which is preferably gallium arsenide or gallium indium arsenide, is grown on a substrate which, after device processing is complete, is removed by a selective etching process. In view of the relatively high sensitivity and good noise characteristics such a device with its flux concentrator is small, since the flux concentrators are themselves much smaller than with conventional Hall effect systems. Other semiconductor materials from which the novel thin Hall effect devices can be made include silicon.

Abstract: A telephone switching network is disclosed, which network is adapted to provide connections between a plurality of input subscriber lines. The network includes a time slot interchanger which comprises a transmit switch memory and a receive switch memory. The transmit and receive memories are capable of storing data at addressable storage locations, which data is indicative of digital data to be transmitted from a line circuit and digital data to be received by a line circuit during a connection between the two line circuits. A connect memory is also employed for storing data indicative of connections to be made between line circuits. The connect memory as well as the switch memories are controlled in operation by a processor, which processor includes an access control means.

Abstract: In a single gun, horizontal stripe color picture tube, including a deflection system for scanning a single beam across groups of horizontal strips coated on a screen, chromaticity of colors to be produced is determined by position of the beam spot within a stripe-group and by the beam current. A vertical, comb-shaped electrode having teeth aligned with groups of strips is mounted along at least one vertical edge of the screen, outside the optically used area of the screen. Means are coupled to the electrode for producing a control signal having a magnitude determined by the displacement of the beam from a desired vertical position relative to the teeth of the electrode which control signal is applied to the deflection system for correcting the displacement.

Abstract: A secure communications system provides a non-secure bypass circuit, which circuit is in parallel with a scrambler or other device. The scrambler is operative during a secure mode to convert data or voice signals into scrambled signals. During a plain text mode, the bypass circuit is operative to directly transmit unscrambled data to the communications channel. The bypass circuit includes monitoring means which are operative to monitor the status of the bypass circuit during a secure mode to assure that there is no leakage of unscrambled information during the secure mode. To accomplish this, the bypass circuit operates in conjunction with analog gates, each of which receives an AC voltage indicative of the plain text signal, simultaneously with a DC status voltage, which voltage is monitored at each gate location to provide an output signal when any gate is not disabled during a secure mode.

Abstract: Electrical resistance strip heating element, the insulated side areas of which are mechanically reinforced in order to render the strip less sensitive to tearing. The reinforcement may be of a slightly stretchable open mask type textile web.

Abstract: A multiport optical cable or bus, composed of bundles of parallel fibers interconnected by an optical star structure, has a higher packing fraction and greater efficiency in the mixing and redistribution functions because the star's radiating arms have their individual cladding layers omitted or removed and because they are fused together to form the mixer section or a part of it. Where the numbers of input and output ports and arms are unequal, the unclad arms have their fused portions optically spliced or connected to form a composite mixer section. Several sections may be cascaded, using the same structural principles, to provide additional lower-level optical outputs for control or other purposes. The cladding function for the star structure is provided by separately encasing the radiating arms and mixer section or sections in a light-reflecting material. Preferably, this is a plastic potting compound having an optical index of refraction lower than those of the star arms or mixer portions.

Abstract: A transport aid is disclosed wherein the article to be transported is lightened by a constant hoisting power. The invention can be used to transport articles which are sensitive to shock and too heavy for manual transport, such as large TV-picture tubes.

Abstract: This invention relates to a continuous method for making electrical heating mats suitable for installation on room floors, walls and ceilings, which method includes the steps of cutting transverse cuts in a longitudinal composite metal/plastic foil material (2) and stretching the foil in a controlled way in order to provide a meander pattern of electrical resistance strip material, the method also including steps of making unit length mats with predetermined ohmic resistance and steps of providing terminations.

Abstract: A major problem in the manufacture of optical fibre cables is the strain to which the fibres are subjected, which strain could damage the fibres. To enable this strain to be monitored, and hence remedial action to be taken, one or more metallic elements are incorporated in the cable, each such element with its insulation being similar in thickness to an optical fibre with its sheath. The electrical resistance of the metallic elements varies very little with temperature, but does vary with strain, so by monitoring resistance, one monitors strain.Although mainly intended for use during manufacture, the method can be used whenever strain monitoring is needed.

Abstract: There is disclosed a closely arranged file of flexible rotating disk memory elements in which a disk may be randomly accessed with minimum error and relatively rapid access time. This disk system utilizes different diameter disks which are arranged in an ascending order in a sub-stack, are rotated at a relatively slow speed. A plurality of the sub-stacks, wherein there is a correspondence between the same diameter disk of each stack, are utilized to provide for a large memory capacity. Microprocessing techniques are utilized for sub-stack and disk selection.

Abstract: A closed loop phase control circuit. The circuit senses the temperature of a load circuit. It also senses the line voltage on each line of a multi-phase system. The sensed line voltage is full-wave rectified. Comparators for each phase compare an input signal indicative of the temperature of the load circuit with the full-wave rectified line voltage in the corresponding phase and develops an output signal when the full-wave rectified line voltage exceeds the input signal indicative of the temperature of the load circuit. Ultimately, triacs, which are in series with the load for each phase, respond to the existence of an output signal from the corresponding comparators and to a pulse from a timer and conduct in response thereto. When a triac conducts, line current is delivered to its corresponding load resistance. In this way, the time for delivery of line current (and line voltage) to the load resistance varies in accordance with the temperature of the load.

Abstract: A character overprinting apparatus and method for overprinting in a laser non-impact printer is disclosed. Control bits are generated and assigned to data words transmitted from a host system. An underline control bit identifies whether the associated data word will require underlining and a data control bit identifies the data word as a character space or a character shape. An intermediate storage register stores a line of data words and associated control bits for overprinting. Stored data words and associated control bits from the intermediate storage register and data words and associated control bits from the host system are compared in an overprinting circuitry means to effect a selected merger of the data words and a selected modification of the control bits. The merger and modification are done in accordance with a pre-selected set of overprint rules.