Abstract: Three-dimensional lightweight foam greeting cards are described herein having a foam body with a perimeter wall that extends between two spaced apart parallel pieces of planar sheet material such as heavy gauge paper, cardboard, or other such material. The greeting cards have a partially hollowed foam body or one or more cavities in the foam body concealed in the front and back by the planar sheet material which may be pre-cut in the shape of the foam body are decorated consistent with the design of the foam body.

Abstract: An interactive greeting card is described herein having a protective housing within which the electronic components are contained and concealed. The protective housing is covered in a multiple panel construct or enclosure which forms a greeting card around the housing. A small compartment in a center portion of the protective housing contains an expandable banner which can be unfolded or pulled away from the greeting card to trigger initiation of a sound clip and illumination of one or more lights.

Abstract: A system for adding a reliable, non-obtrusive or distracting method to gather and process consumer behavior and interest when a sale is not made in the retail environment. The system would allow for the display of this information back to the consumer though a web landing page and would allow retailers and product manufacturers to make offers to the consumer based upon certain criteria that could include frequency to the store, aisles traveled or stops during the aisle travel to look at but not necessary purchase the product. Additionally the system would give the ability to the consumer to unlock secured display cabinets to access product since they would be considered a “trusted” source.

Abstract: Three-dimensional lightweight foam greeting cards are described herein having a foam body with a perimeter wall that extends between two spaced apart parallel pieces of planar sheet material such as heavy gauge paper, cardboard, or other such material. The greeting cards have a partially hollowed foam body or one or more cavities in the foam body concealed in the front and back by the planar sheet material which may be pre-cut in the shape of the foam body are decorated consistent with the design of the foam body. The cavities in the foam body may contain various electronic components that enable the greeting card to produce sound, record and playback a personalized message, trigger light activation, trigger the movement of moveable parts, display digital video, photographs or slideshows, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: The present invention and related disclosure describes greeting cards with moving elements or devices which are operable to create motion in connection with some portion of the greeting card. The greeting card may include a multi-panel greeting card body or a three-dimensional foam greeting card body. At least one movable object is contained upon or within the greeting card body. A sound module having at least one pre-recorded digital audio file saved therein and a motor module are contained and concealed within the greeting card body. One or more switches may be used to activate the sound and motor modules, causing the pre-recorded audio file to play and causing movement of the movable or mobile object. This movement may be up-and-down or “bouncing” motion, spinning or rotational motion, side-to-side motion or any other reciprocating motion.

Abstract: The interactive greeting card of the present invention contains a multi-panel greeting card body with various electronic components contained and concealed therein. Upon opening the greeting card, spoken instructions may instruct the user to move an attached magnet from one area of the greeting card to another to initiate a surprise or various special effects such as sound and light.

Abstract: An interactive electronic greeting card with pop up feature includes a three-sided pocket or cavity which houses various electronic and mechanical components and a pop up element. In a first position, the pop up element is substantially contained within the greeting card pocket or cavity. When the push button is depressed, the pop up element is ejected or “pops up” out of the greeting card pocket or cavity, revealing a greeting or other printed indicia. The push button also initiates playback of a pre-loaded digital audio file, which may be a spoken message, a sound, a song, music or other such audio recording. Manually pushing the pop up element back into the cavity ends playback of the audio.

Abstract: The present invention provides a race track configured to encourage passing. The race track includes a pavement that defines a turn, a first path around the turn, and a second path around the turn. The second path is longer than the first path, and the two paths are spaced-apart such that a first car can travel on the first path and a second car can travel on the second path in an overlapped position relative to the first car. At least a portion of the first path passing over a plurality of depressions defined in the pavement at predetermined positions. The depressions configured to reduce the amount of friction available to the first car such that the first car is slowed sufficiently for the second car to maintain the overlap position or pass the first car through the turn as the second car travels on the longer second path.

Abstract: The present invention and related disclosure describes greeting cards with moving elements or devices which are operable to create motion in connection with some portion of the greeting card. The greeting card may include a multi-panel greeting card body or a three-dimensional foam greeting card body. At least one movable object is contained upon or within the greeting card body. A sound module having at least one pre-recorded digital audio file saved therein and a motor module are contained and concealed within the greeting card body. One or more switches may be used to activate the sound and motor modules, causing the pre-recorded audio file to play and causing movement of the movable or mobile object. This movement may be up-and-down or “bouncing” motion, spinning or rotational motion, side-to-side motion or any other reciprocating motion.

Abstract: The invention relates to a blood oximeter for measuring the oxygenation and at least one other parameter of flowing blood in living tissue. According to the invention, the blood oximeter comprises two lightsources (2, 3) emitting light of different wavelengths into tissue, and preferably a light detector (4) for detecting a transmitted and/or reflected part of the light emitted into the tissue, wherein at least one of the light sources is a laser with a laser cavity emitting a laser beam, the laser being adapted to allow a part of the laser beam which is scattered by the tissue to re-enter into the laser cavity, and wherein a laser beam sensor (7, 8) for measuring the light emitted from the laser is provided, the laser beam sensor (7, 8), thus, obtaining a signal which varies in accordance with the self-mixing interferometric effect between the original laser beam and the scattered laser beam.

Abstract: A manually directed, multi-channel electronic pipetting system is designed to transfer liquids from a standard multi-well plate, deep-well plate or reservoir into another multi-well plate. The preferred pipetting head includes an array of 96-tip fittings. A deck with at least one but preferably two or more wellplate nesting receptacles holds one or more multi-well plates or reagent reservoirs for access by an array of disposable pipette tips mounted to the pipetting head. The electronic motion control system includes a control handle that is mounted to a load cell, the carriage for the pipetting head and is held in the palm of the user. In use, the user grasps the control handle and operates the system in a manner similar to one using a handheld electronic pipettor.

Abstract: The interactive greeting card of the present disclosure and related inventions combines a traditional paper card with one or more special effects that are initiated by interaction between a user and the greeting card. One or more touch sensors are used to initiate effects including, but not limited to sound, light, movement or a combination thereof.

Abstract: A swimming platform assembly that is adapted to be mounted to a drive assembly housing of a watercraft includes a support platform adapted to provide a stable support for a swimmer and a mounting assembly coupled to the support platform to mount the support platform onto the watercraft. The support platform has planar top and bottom surfaces, while the mounting assembly is secured to an intermediate portion of a drive assembly housing of the watercraft such that the top surface of the support platform is disposed below the surface of the water when the watercraft is stationary or is traveling in a forward direction at or below a critical rate of speed, and such that the bottom surface of the support platform is disposed above the surface of the water when the watercraft is traveling in a forward direction above the critical rate of speed.

Abstract: A multi-channel wellplate filling system has a peristaltic pump for pumping fluid through multiple flexible tubes. The system also includes multiple pipette tip mounting shafts arranged in a linear array and in fluid communication with a respective flexible tube of the tubing set. Disposable pipette tips are mounted on the pipette tip mounting shafts. A controller operates the peristaltic pump in reverse and forward directions respectively in order to aspirate liquid into disposable pipette tips mounted on the pipette tip mounting shafts and dispense liquid in a metered amount from the disposable pipette tips into a wellplate positioned on a wellplate platform in the system. The system can also be converted into a wellplate wash station.

Abstract: A system (10) is provided for enabling biometric identification. The system (10) comprises at least two electrodes (12), a database (14) and a processor (13). The at least two electrodes (12) are to be applied to a face of a subject for capturing electrophysiological signals (51, 52, 53, 54) therefrom. The subject is one of the registered users. The database (14) comprises characteristic eye blink data of registered users. The processor (13) is operably coupled to the electrodes (12) and the database (14) and is operative to receive the electrophysiological signals (51, 52, 53, 54) from the at least two electrodes (12) during at least one eye blink of the subject, to derive eye blink characteristics from the obtained electrophysiological signals (51, 52, 53 54), to make a comparison of the derived eye blink characteristics with at least part of the characteristic eye blink data in the database (14) and to determine an identity of the subject, based on the comparison.

Abstract: A manually directed, multi-channel electronic pipetting system is designed to transfer liquids from a standard multi-well plate, deep-well plate or reservoir into another multi-well plate. The preferred pipetting head includes an array of 96-tip fittings. A deck with at least one but preferably two or more wellplate nesting receptacles holds one or more multi-well plates or reagent reservoirs for access by an array of disposable pipette tips mounted to the pipetting head. The electronic motion control system includes a control handle that is mounted to a load cell, the carriage for the pipetting head and is held in the palm of the user. In use, the user grasps the control handle and operates the system in a manner similar to one using a handheld electronic pipettor.