Abstract: Provided are methods and systems that relate to configuring a handheld analyzer. The handheld analyzer may receive an identifier from a dual design test cartridge. The parameter module disposed within the handheld analyzer may determine parameters corresponding to the received test cartridge identifier. The parameter module may then configure the handheld analyzer to perform a test with the dual designed test cartridge using the determined parameters. In an embodiment, the diagnostic test module may determine the test corresponding to the received cartridge identifier and the diagnostic test module configures the handheld analyzer to perform the determined test with the test cartridge. In another embodiment, the dual test cartridge comprises an outer enclosure and an inner enclosure. The outer enclosure comprises a parameter module capable of storing test cartridge identification and may be reused to store new test identifications.

Abstract: An extendable and/or retractable illuminating device comprises a luminaire atop a telescoping mast, which is selectively positionable between extended and retracted positions, suitable for use as a warning signal. The luminaire has a strobe feature and its intensity is capable of automatic adjustment in response to ambient light levels. The telescoping mast, and thus the luminaire, are driven by an electric motor within a manually portable case, which also houses a rechargeable electrical power supply and microcontroller unit for providing power and operating commands to the luminaire.

Abstract: A vibro-tactile cutaneous alert stimulation and massaging system for equipment such as a vehicle includes a pad; a heater element, and motorized vibrators in respective regions of the pad; a plurality of vibratory transducers for location relative to plural zones of the seat, each transducer being responsive to a transducer power signal; a microprocessor controller having program and variable memory and an input and output interface; an array of input elements connected to the input interface for signaling the microprocessor in response to operator input, the signaling including an intensity control value, a plurality of mode signals, and a plurality of region signals relating transducers to be enabled; and a driver circuit responsive to the output interface for producing the power signal separately for each of the transducers.

Abstract: A massaging system includes a pad comprising with multiple zones sand vibratory transducers in the pad for vibrating the zones. Each transducer includes a motor and a mass element eccentrically coupled to the motor. The massaging system also includes a microcontroller having an input interface and an output interface, a program memory coupled to the microcontroller, and input elements coupled to the input interface for signaling the microcontroller in response to operator input. A motor driver coupled to the output interface and the vibratory transducers drives the vibratory transducers in response to the operator input, while firmware stored in the memory and executed by the microcontroller selectively operates the vibratory transducers in a tapping mode and a wave mode in response to the operator input.

Abstract: A vibro-tactile cutaneous alert stimulation and massaging system for equipment such as a vehicle includes a pad, a heater element, and motorized vibrators in respective regions of the pad; a plurality of vibratory transducers for location relative to plural zones of the seat; a microprocessor controller having program and variable memory and an input and output interface; an array of input elements connected to the input interface for signaling the microprocessor in response to operator input; and a driver circuit responsive to the output interface for producing the power signal separately for each of the transducers. The controller responds to the input elements to activate the transducers in: a massaging mode and an alert mode producing a predetermined sequence of vibro-tactile cutaneous alert stimulation cycles. Additional transducers can be spaced along a restraining seat belt for imparting directionally oriented stimuli warning of an impending collision.

Abstract: A massaging system includes a pad, a heater element, motorized vibrators in the pad, heater and motor drivers in the pad, a control wand removably connectable to the pad and having a microcontroller with RAM and ROM, a serial EEPROM, and a serial interface to a shift register in the pad for signaling pulse width modulation of the drivers. The ROM defines a master set of operating modes and variations thereof in response to operator input. The EEPROM has data for implementing and configuring a subset of the master modes. Also disclosed is a set-up method for writing data to the EEPROM using the serial interface when the wand is disconnected from the pad. The system can include an audio envelope detector having a dual-slope integrating ADC in the pad that is cycled by serial signals driving the shift register, a single comparator output of the ADC signaling the microcontroller.

Abstract: A computer controlled massaging system (10) includes a pad (14), a plurality of motorized vibrators (12) in respective regions (26, 28, 30, 32, 34) of the pad; a heater element (16, 18) in the pad; microprocessor controller (10); an array of input elements (50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 62, 64, 96) responsive to operator input for signaling an intensity control value at least one region signal relating motors to be activated, and a heat control input; and a plurality of motor drivers (118) and a heater driver (120) responsive to the controller. The motors can be variably driven using pulse width modulation, with duty cycle compensation for voltage drops resulting from added loads and with current limiting when, for example, the system is powered from an AC line using a low voltage transformer of limited capacity.

Abstract: A massaging system includes a pad; a heater element, and motorized vibrators in respective regions of the pad; corresponding heater and motor drivers in the pad; a control wand removably connectable to the pad and having a microcontroller with RAM and ROM, a serial EEPROM; a serial interface to a shift register in the pad for signaling pulse width modulation of the drivers. The ROM defines a master set of operating modes and variations thereof in response to operator input of intensity, region, heat input; and mode signals to the controller. The EEPROM has data for implementing and configuring a subset of the master modes. The system can also provide composite modes including a test mode that automatically sequentially activates each mode and variation of the subset of the modes without delays for exercising non-implemented modes.

Abstract: A remote controlled massage device includes a remote control unit having a microprocessor, a keypad, and a transmitter, the microprocessor being programmed for generating output data directly corresponding to individual keystrokes of the keypad that define activation of particular vibrator elements, operation in particular time-variant power level sequences, relative vibration intensity, and relative speed of advancing through the time-variant power sequences. The transmitter has a transducer for radiating signals corresponding to the output data, for reflection from a ceiling under which the device is located, the data being transmitted in plural identical packets having a header, a sequence number, a device code program data, and an error code, subsequent sets of the identical packets having different sequence numbers.

Abstract: A remote controlled massage device includes a remote control unit having a microprocessor, a keypad, and a transmitter, the microprocessor being programmed for generating output data directly corresponding to individual keystrokes of the keypad that define activation of particular vibrator elements, operation in particular time-variant power level sequences, relative vibration intensity, and relative speed of advancing through the time-variant power sequences. The transmitter has a transducer for radiating signals corresponding to the output data, for reflection from a ceiling under which the device is located, the data being transmitted in plural identical packets having a header, a sequence number, a device code program data, and an error code, subsequent sets of the identical packets having different sequence numbers.

Abstract: A tactile alert stimulation and massaging system for equipment such as a vehicle includes a pad; a heater element, and motorized vibrators in respective regions of the pad; a plurality of vibratory transducers for location relative to plural zones of the seat, each transducer being responsive to a transducer power signal; a microprocessor controller having program and variable memory and an input and output interface; an array of input elements connected to the input interface for signaling the microprocessor in response to operator input, the signaling including an intensity control value, a plurality of mode signals, and a plurality of region signals relating transducers to be enabled; a driver circuit responsive to the output interface for producing, separately for each of the transducers, the power signal; and the microprocessor controller being operative in response to the input elements for activating the transducers for operation thereof in a plurality of modes including a massaging mode selectively pr

Abstract: A computer controlled massaging system includes a pad; a plurality of motorized vibrators in respective regions of the pad; a heater element in the pad; a microprocessor controller; an array of input elements responsive to operator input for signaling an intensity control value, at least one region signal relating motors to be activated, and a heat control input; and a plurality of motor drivers and a heater driver responsive to the controller. The motors can be variably driven using pulse-width modulation, with duty cycle compensation for voltage drops resulting from added loads, and with current limiting when, for example, the system is powered from an AC line using a low-voltage transformer of limited capacity. Also disclosed is a corresponding method for massaging.

Abstract: Digital data are communicated between a portable data-gathering unit and a data-receiving unit without direct electrical connection by transmitting the data over a contactless connection system. In a preferred embodiment, data flow is bidirectional.

Abstract: A dual magnetic head having a first magnetic core for reading and writing very high track density floppy disks and a second magnetic core for reading and writing conventional track density floppy disks. Neither the first nor the second magnetic cores require the trim erase elements associated with prior art magnetic cores for use with floppy disks. When writing on conventional track density floppy disks, separation between data tracks is achieved by erasing a circular region on a first rotation of the floppy disk, erasing a second region, separated from the first region by a small gap, on a second rotation of the floppy disk, and writing data during a third rotation of the floppy disk centered about the small gap. With very high density floppy disks, data is written directly between optical servo tracks on the floppy disk without use of the two erase steps.

Abstract: The present invention is an electronic teaching system containing two principal components: a projection frame and a hand-held remote unit. The projection frame mediates the electronic test and holds a transparency on an overhead projector so that the transparency may be projected for an entire class to view. Typically the transparency features a series of questions and possible answers to the questions. The projection frame asks the questions and displays the results of the testing process. In a preferred embodiment the projection frame bears a series of pointers, one for each question. When a given question is asked, the corresponding pointer becomes illuminated. Students participate in the test by matching the correct answer to the appropriate question. The students use the second component of the present invention, the hand-held remote unit which bears a keyboard, to answer the question currently being asked by the projection frame.

Abstract: A diskette comprising a jacket, a liner material disposed within said jacket, a flat circular media having a magnetic coating on both sides disposed within said liner material, a hub attached at the center of said media, a plurality of servo grooves on at least one of said sides of said media that have stitched patterns that will alternate on-and-off at twenty kilohertz in the presence of a constant, unmodulated light source. The diskette is magnetically formatted with reference and data tracks recorded in such a way that extremely accurate position determinations can be made by looking at the analog amplitude of the detected tracks and comparing them at different head positions.

Abstract: A diskette comprising a jacket, a liner material disposed within said jacket, a flat circular media having a magnetic coating on both sides disposed within said liner material, a hub attached at the center of said media, a plurality of servo grooves on at least one of said sides of said media that have stitched patterns that will alternate on-and-off at twenty kilohertz in the presence of a constant, unmodulated light source. The diskette is magnetically formatted with reference and data tracks recorded in such a way that extremely accurate position determinations can be made by looking at the analog amplitude of the detected tracks and comparing them at different head positions.

Abstract: A diskette comprising a jacket, a liner material disposed within said jacket, a flat circular media having a magnetic coating on both sides disposed within said liner material, a hub attached at the center of said media, a plurality of optical positioning tracks on at least one of said sides of said media, and a media type code optically embossed on at least one of said sides of said media. The media type code contains information about the physical properties of the particular diskette that will allow a disk drive unit to auto-configure itself to allow optimum data communication and performance.

Abstract: A diskette comprising a jacket, a liner material disposed within said jacket, a flat circular media having a magnetic coating on both sides disposed within said liner material, a hub attached at the center of said media, a plurality of optical positioning tracks on at least one of said sides of said media, and a media type code optically embossed on at least one of said sides of said media. The media type code contains information about the physical properties of the particular diskette that will allow a disk drive unit to auto-configure itself to allow optimum data communication and performance.

Abstract: A magnetic medium including a physical reference feature for conveying positional information to a magnetic read/write head. The reference feature is made by indelibly marking a pattern on a surface of the medium such as by inscribing the metal oxide coating on the medium surface or by chemical etching or photolithography of the surface. Magnetic data is written on the surface of the medium and when data written on the reference feature is read, a modulated read back signal is observed which indicates the position of the reference feature. The position of the reference feature is used to direct the read/write head to track zero or to some other position on the medium surface. By using a second magnetic read/write head to write data on a second surface of the medium in response to the modulated readback signal, an electronic reference track can be written on the second surface for providing positional information to the second magnetic read/write head.