Abstract: A two-part hockey stick having a hockey stick blade and a hockey stick shaft joined together at a joint. The hockey stick has a blade with a neck, a heel, and a toe. The joint has a male joint portion on an end of the shaft, which has heel and opposed toe walls, each of which extend away from a distal surface of the shaft and terminate at a mating surface. The heel wall is disposed on a side of the joint adjacent to a heel of the blade, and is longer than the toe wall. The mating surface extends between the heel and toe walls. The joint also has a hollow female joint portion disposed in a neck of the blade. The male joint portion mates with the female joint portion, thereby joining the shaft to the blade and forming the hockey stick.

Abstract: Systems, methods and apparatus which provides for modified roulette games, and various wagering options, in which one or more roulette balls are propelled onto a spinning roulette wheel, among other things, including a roulette wheel overlay apparatus and system and associated table layouts.

Abstract: Multi-lumen catheters with improved tip configurations, including a triple-lumen catheter which may be useful for apheresis. In one variation, the catheter has three lumens with distal openings angularly spaced apart and staggered axially with respect to one another. In another variation, the catheter has two lumens exiting distally and one centrally positioned lumen exiting proximally. A third variation is a catheter with a single distal opening and two proximal openings. The staggered lumen openings along the axial length of the catheter may decrease recirculation while maximizing flow rates.

Abstract: A positioning mechanism for use in conjunction with rod and connector construction toy sets, such as K'NEX, to enable incrementally adjustable positioning of rods relative to associated connectors. The new mechanism includes first and second positioning members. The first, positioning member is, mounted on a rod for angular movement and includes a cylindrical outer surface with multiple detent notches. The second positioning member has a convergent pair of resilient fingers engaged with a spaced pair of the detent notches to releasably retain the first positioning member in any incrementally adjusted position. The second positioning member includes mounting studs engageable with laterally spaced connectors of an assembly, and a separate locating element engageable with at least one of the connectors to fix the second positioning member against rotation.

Abstract: A card shoe apparatus includes a card guide unit that guides cards that are manually drawn out one by one from a card housing unit onto a game table, a code reading unit that, when a card is drawn out from the card housing unit, reads from that card a code that indicates a rank (number, rank) of that card, a authenticity determination unit that determines the authenticity of the card based on the information of the authenticity of the card, a winning/losing determination unit that determines the winning/losing of a card game based on the ranks of the cards sequentially read by the code reading unit, and an output unit that outputs the results of the determination made by the winning/losing determination unit. The card guide unit includes a card entry/exit restriction unit that restricts the entry/exit of the card to/from the card housing unit.

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a plush toy having a body, a first pocket, a second pocket, and an extendable member that may be positioned as a necklace, a headband or a strap. The extendable member may be retracted into one of the pockets through a hole or holes in the body of the toy leaving only a small portion of the extendable member external to the body or may be extended from the body. When retracted, the extendable member may be positioned, for example, as a necklace or a headband.

Abstract: A Toy assembly includes a flexible joint element and a construction member. The flexible joint element comprises two spherical components and a flexible string. The two spherical components are coupled to the flexible string at the two ends of the flexible string. The construction member comprises two slots and two holes which can receive the flexible joint element. Multiple construction members can be assembled, utilizing flexible joint elements, to construct toys or other structures with members having six (6) degrees of freedom.

Abstract: A magnetic toy apparatus and method, an embodiment including a plurality of bodies, at least one of which is rod-shaped, the bodies each having voids adjacent to its corners or ends, a plurality of magnets each disposed in one of the voids so as to be freely rotatable to facilitate connecting the bodies to each other by magnetic force.

Abstract: An archery backstop includes a collapsible frame used to receive a front board and a rear board. The front board is formed from a medium density fiberboard while the rear board is formed from an extruded polystyrene insulation. The frame is collapsible about a pair of hinges formed on the frame, allowing the frame to be folded in half when transported. A pair of magnetic locks disposed on the frame maintains the backstop in a collapsed position, while a rotatable locking mechanism disposed on the frame maintains the frame in an open position during use. The frame further includes an adjustable hanger bar support to allow for various configurations and placements of a target to be attached to the backstop.

Abstract: A pump, related system, and related method are provided. The pump includes a reservoir, a port, and a plunger. The reservoir delivers a liquid by discharging the liquid through the port coupled to the reservoir. The plunger has a piston coupled to a shaft and is disposed within the reservoir in sliding engagement with an inner surface of the reservoir. The piston defines a liquid side of the reservoir and a non-liquid side of the reservoir whereby movement of the plunger towards the liquid side of the reservoir discharges liquid through the port. The pump also includes a reference-volume assembly and/or a linear position sensor. The reference-volume assembly is coupled to the reservoir at an opposite end of the reservoir relative to the port and includes a reference-volume chamber in acoustic communication with the non-liquid side of the reservoir, a speaker disposed within the reference-volume chamber, and a reference microphone disposed within the reference-volume chamber.

Abstract: A magnetic tile construction set is disclosed that may be used to construct extended 3-dimensional structures. In one embodiment, plastic magnets are attached to multiple edges of a lightweight core. The magnets have a width and length comparable to the thickness of the core and a length that is an order of magnitude longer than the thickness of the core. Tiles may be attached to one another at the tile edges through magnetic forces that do not vary by more than a factor of two over the range of angles from 45 degrees to 180 degrees.

Abstract: The building components of the present invention provide building components which are compatible with high-stress and/or high-impact devices or mechanisms due to at least their composition or their configuration. Consequently, the building components of the present invention provide a more robust building component. In some embodiments, the building components of the present invention are be die-cast, metal building components manufactured from any desirable metal, such as zinc. Alternatively or additionally, the building components may include a configuration that provides for at least one offset coupling configuration such that building components may be coupled together in a structurally secure configuration. Thus, in some embodiments, the building components of the present invention provide a building component for constructing toy vehicles that is compatible with wheeled boosters typically provided for die cast toy vehicles.

Abstract: A toy character is provided including a body supporting an eye assembly. The eye assembly may include a base, a plate and three or more segments connecting the base and plate. The three or more segments may define two cavities therebetween. Two light emitting sources may each be arranged with the base and oriented within their respective cavities such that activation of the light emitting sources directs light output toward the plate. The plate may include two regions corresponding to the two cavities which may illuminate when the respective light emitting sources are activated. The toy character may include two eye assemblies. The toy character may include a control system configured to direct operation of the light emitting sources. The control system may direct illumination sequences according to software instructions included within the control system.

Abstract: A medical connector includes a housing with a central axis, a hollow bore, and a narrowed passage. The connector further includes a rigid valve member configured to move along the axis of the connector as the connector moves between an open and closed configuration. The connector includes a resilient member coupled to the valve member and the housing.

Abstract: A variable stiffness catheter includes an elongate tubular body having proximal and distal body ends and defining a lumen extending longitudinally between a fluid inlet in the proximal body end and a fluid outlet in the distal body end. The catheter includes a vacuum responsive stiffener coupled with the elongate tubular body, which may include a stiffening medium such as an open cell foam having an expanded state and a vacuum collapsed state. The stiffening medium can transition between the expanded state at which it is relatively flexible and the vacuum collapsed state at which it is relatively inflexible via withdrawing fluid from the vacuum responsive stiffener by way of a vacuum device.

Abstract: The modular flying disc is an amusement device that is aerodynamically supported. The modular flying disc is a flying device that has four weighted corner sections and a center weighted section that allow the modular flying disc to expand with centrifugal force when thrown. In various embodiments of the disclosure, the weights used in the four weighted corner sections are configured to allow multiple modular flying discs to be stacked. The modular flying disc comprises a swatch, a center weight, and a plurality of corner weights.

Abstract: A dynamic target stand comprising pivotally interconnected platform members including two horizontal parallel swing arms pivotally mounted to a base on two vertical parallel pivot posts and a plurality of horizontal cross members pivotally connected to both swing arms on vertical pivot axes. A motor drives the swing arms in reciprocating clockwise and counterclockwise motion. The cross members travel in reciprocating arcuate paths but maintain a fixed angular (or rotational) orientation with respect to a person taking target practice. Targets mounted to the swing may face the user's line of sight throughout their arcuate paths. Multiple targets may be mounted on the platform creating a dynamic group of targets moving at different speeds, in different lateral directions, and crossing paths from the user's perspective. The target stand is compact, portable by person, and rapidly set up and taken down without tools.

Abstract: A table tennis ball faithfully reproduces the playing characteristics of celluloid table tennis balls without using celluloid, and a thermoplastic resin composition for table tennis balls provides a table tennis ball having an excellent balance of elastic modulus, impact resistance, and density. The table tennis ball is composed of a celluloid-free thermoplastic resin or thermoplastic resin composition having a flexural modulus according to ISO 178 of 1650 MPa or more, a Charpy impact strength according to ISO 179 of 20 kJ/m2 or more, and a density according to ISO 1183 of less than 1.20 g/cm3, has a diameter of 39.0 mm or more, and weighs 2.0 to 3.5 g.

Abstract: A playing card handling device is disclosed. The device includes a first side and a second opposite side. Components of the device include a card infeed tray, a card output tray and a card handling zone. The card infeed tray and card output tray are on the same first side of the device and an upper surface of the card infeed tray and an upper surface of the card output tray are in the same plane. Card handling devices of the present invention also include a touch screen display, as well as a movable card gate.

Abstract: An integrated training system for articles of footwear is disclosed. Each article of footwear includes a set of physical characteristics associated with an athletic skill. A customized training program is provided with each article of footwear to provide custom tailored training for improving the particular athletic skill associated with the selected article of footwear.