Abstract: A sealing member, whose unique manner of movement provides an improvement to a quick-connect valve assembly, for fluid control. A coupling force, required to couple the quick-connect valve assembly, containing the sealing member, is substantially reduced, resulting in an improvement to a typical quick-connect valve assembly (prior-art). The quick-connect valve assembly is comprised of at least a male coupler, a female coupler and the sealing member. During the resultant coupling, the sealing member's features ensure that said sealing member is firstly moved in a rotational manner and then secondly, if desired, in a more typical translational manner. The sealing member design allows backward compatibility with the typical quick connect valve assemblies. This backward compatibility allows a simple one-part replacement of a typical sealing member (prior-art) with said sealing member in order to benefit from this improvement.

Abstract: There is provided an electric connection-inspection device which does not impair a freedom of selection of using materials from a viewpoint of restriction in terms of product's function with the aptitude of electric features of electric resistance and physical properties of internal stress, and restriction in terms of manufacture as to the appropriation or not of employment of a plating method, and which has a fine construction provided with the excellent durability that an electrode element is hard to adhere and coagulate.

Abstract: An intrauterine catheter device for monitoring fetal and/or maternal heart rate, including an elongate housing having proximal and distal portions, an array of ECG electrodes on the distal portion and one or more acoustic or other mechanical sensors on the distal portion. A pressure transducer may also be provided on the distal portion. Processor circuitry compares the ECG signal with the output signal of the acoustic sensor to derive fetal and/or maternal heart rate. An intrauterine catheter device is also provided, including a reference electrode on its distal portion, and an array of active electrodes spaced apart from one another on the distal portion. The device may also include a pressure transducer on the distal portion and processor circuitry coupled to the array of active electrodes and/or to the reference electrode for deriving fetal ECG from signals produced by the array of active electrodes.

Abstract: In addition to microwave and excitation light, bias light as well is irradiated upon a surface of a semiconductor sample that is passivated using a solution which contains an electrolyte. Irradiation of the bias light increases the quantity of ionic substances that exist in the solution, largely changes a surface potential of the semiconductor sample, and suppresses surface recombination. This makes it possible to measure the lifetime of carriers which exist within the semiconductor sample at a high accuracy, without influenced by surface recombination.

Abstract: An envelope feeder using a combination of frictional force differentiation and three discrimination edges, two of which are provided by flexible materials spaced apart from and on either side of a metal envelope separating plate to prevent multiple envelope feeds into printers. The flexible plate on the media side of the metal envelope separating plate is at a more acute angle to the vertical than the metal envelope separating plate, and the metal envelope separating plate of the invention is at a more acute angle than the angles used by metal envelope separating plates in the prior art. A third discrimination edge is provided by a flexible plate which is behind the metal envelope separating plate and which has an angled portion which is longer than the angled portion of the metal envelope separating plate so as to extend past the end of the angled portion of the metal envelope separating plate by about 0.15 inches.