Abstract: A dog is trained to hunt by using a unit that resembles a bird first as a toy and then as a training element. The dog identifies the unit as a toy and the training method uses this association to teach the dog to retrieve and point as well as the other skills associated with hunting. The training can begin when the dog is a young puppy.

Abstract: Grounding elements are used to properly ground floor coverings and other elements whereby a floor covering, such as a carpet, need not be removed and reinstalled to correct a grounding problem. Properly grounded floor coverings and other devices reduces the effects of electrostatic discharge (ESD) and eliminates disruptive leak paths. One form of the invention has an element that is touched by a user layered on top of an ESD grounded work surface.

Abstract: A system controls and manages administration of a therapeutic gas, such as NO, O2, or the like, to a spontaneously breathing, non-ventilated patient such that concentrated NO is as low as reasonably possible while delivering the desired amount of NO to the distal portions of the lungs. The system includes an entrainment cell that provides remote, turbulent mixing with low temporal latency and can be used with a nasal cannula or a mask. The entrainment cell uses room air to dilute the therapeutic gas; however, supplementary gases can also be used. A baffle can be included to promote mixing and a flow sensor can also be used if desired. Multiple ports can be included in the entrainment cell. An equalizing valve is also disclosed.

Abstract: A surgical anchor is provided with one or more anchor holes distributed around the head of the anchor. Each anchor hole is inclined to allow attachment of one or more sutures to the anchor either before, during or after the anchor is seated in a bone. The upper and lower apertures of each anchor hole are chamfered, and the chamfered areas from the anchor hole to the outside edge shall be polished or somehow smoothed to remove share edges and rough areas which may cause friction and abrasion to soft tissue or suture material. The lower surface of the anchor head may be angled to further simplify the task of feeding a surgical needle through the anchor hole after the anchor is seated into bone.

Abstract: Wood is bent using a unit and a method in which a continuous and uninterrupted curved path is defined over a workpiece-supporting surface and form and clamp blocks are electromagnetically attached to the workpiece-supporting surface adjacent to the path. The form and clamp blocks engage a wood workpiece to force that workpiece into a shape that matches the path defined over the workpiece-supporting surface.

Abstract: A standby power system includes a flywheel that rotates in a horizontal plane and is coupled to an engine and a motor/generator that have horizontally oriented shafts which rotate in vertical planes. A coupling changes the direction of rotation to couple the flywheel to the engine and/or to the motor/generator. The flywheel can rotate at speeds different from the speeds of rotation of the shafts and several systems can be ganged together to supply power. The coupling can include mechanical, electromechanical and hydraulic elements.

Abstract: A target assembly includes special paper on which a target is imprinted and which is stored on a feeder roll in a frame and which is moved past a target area in the frame to either a take-up roll or to an exit slot. If the paper passes through the exit slot, it can be moved past a cutting slot and cut off using a knife or the like. The paper is a special rosin sized sheathing, such as forty pound wax paper, which retains the desired orientation during a target shoot, as well as makes clean, precise holes when impacted by shot whereby a precise record of a shot is made. An area on the paper adjacent to each target can be used to record data pertinent to the shoot whereby a firearm can be sighted in or a load adjusted.

Abstract: An overfilled, pre-cast reinforced concrete arch bridge for supporting one pathway above a second pathway in which the projections of the pathways intersect at an oblique angle. The bridge includes a plurality of identically shaped arch elements that are offset from each other to form a staggered orientation whereby a skewed bridge is formed without specially shaped arch elements. Cover elements can be used to prevent migration of soil or water into the bridge and various forms of arch elements can be used in the bridge.

Abstract: A cellular telephone system has call management decisions made based on the exact geographic location of the mobile unit. These call management decisions include billing and taxing decisions, cell site selection, frequency selection and even cellular system selection. The decisions are continuously updated during a call whereby decisions can be made and changed regardless of where a call originated. Cell site location, and even cellular system selection, can be made in a specific manner to best serve the needs of the mobile user, the cellular system as well as the public. It is even possible for a cellular system to locate one or more of its cell sites in the geographic area served by another cellular system. In some cases, cellular systems might even share cell sites.

Abstract: A large animal, such as a cow, is brushed by a system that includes a brush mounted on a frame that is pivotally mounted on a structure such as a stall adjacent to the animal. A motor is connected to the brush to rotate the brush and is activated when the animal presses against the brush. A timer mechanism automatically de-activates the motor after a pre-set interval so another, separate, force must be applied to the brush to re-start the cycle. The brush is moved by the animal pressing against the brush to automatically accommodate different animal sizes.

Abstract: A unit is mounted directly on a tank of pressurized gas used to inflate a balloon and includes a supporting bracket having ribbon-accommodating holes defined through one end thereof and a support section on the other end. A ribbon supporting spool is rotatably mounted on the support section and ribbon drawn off the spool is threaded through the ribbon-accommodating holes to be captured in a knot formed in the neck of the balloon after that neck has been drawn around the supporting bracket and formed into a knot. A method of forming a knot in the balloon and capturing the ribbon therein is also disclosed.

Abstract: A joint for pre-cast concrete twin-leaf arch sections is self-aligning when the two arch sections are initially brought into abutting contact with each other. The joint provides a rigid connection between the twin units and is achieved on site by means of re-inforced cast-in-place concrete. Reinforcement splices for the connection are lap splices, and the joint allows pouring the cast-in-place concrete without the need of formwork. For load distributing purposes, a continuous connection of individual arch rings in the longitudinal direction at the arch crown is possible. An initial abutting contact between the twin units is provided by the joint of the present invention. The contact provided by the joint of the present invention is self-aligning, locking, allows the controlled transmission of the abutting force and allows for a temporary connection. The joint includes mechanical elements for aligning and locking the two arch sections together.

Abstract: The locking joint mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,767 is improved by including elements that prevent roll of one joint member relative to another joint member. The roll preventing elements include at least one actuator head or pin spaced from another actuator head or pin and which is received in a concavity defined between adjacent protuberances. Various protuberance patterns and overall operating mechanisms are also disclosed.

Abstract: A joint mechanism and connector includes a rounded member having at least one concavity and which is connected to a first part, at least one actuator having a tip that is received in the concavity to lock a second part connected to the actuator to the first part. The rounded member has a recess defined thereon which receives spherical members on the rounded member. The actuator tip is received in concavities defined by the spherical members.

Abstract: A food formulation comprising an edible alkyl, or substituted alkyl cellulose compound and an edible polyhydric alcohol is provided which in combination and in specified amounts have been found to synergistically attain progressive, controlled hydration thereof during passage through the digestive system. The formulation may be further provided with a time-release coating thereover.

Abstract: A surgical anchor is provided with one or more anchor holes distributed around the head of the anchor. Each anchor hole is inclined to allow attachment of one or more sutures to the anchor either before, during or after the anchor is seated in a bone. The upper and lower apertures of each anchor hole are chamfered, and the chamfered areas from the anchor hole to the outside edge shall be polished or somehow smoothed to remove sharp edges and rough areas which may cause friction and abrasion to soft tissue or suture material. The lower surface of the anchor head may be angled to further simplify the task of feeding a surgical needle through the anchor hole after the anchor is seated into bone.