Abstract: A method for controlling amplified signals in a medical diagnostic device having an amplifier system that is adapted to amplify input signals having a baseline and filter means for filtering the amplified signals, comprising the detection of the presence of an amplified signal having an amplitude that is above an upper voltage threshold or below a lower voltage threshold, and freezing the baseline of the amplified signal upon the detection thereof.

Abstract: The present application describes a valve or valve assembly for inclusion in an emergency air supply line to the trailer braking system of an articulated vehicle. The valve or valve assembly has an air inlet, an air outlet, a closing member, and an operating means. The air inlet is connectable to an upstream side of the emergency air supply line. The air outlet is connectable to a downstream side of the emergency air supply line. The closing member is biased towards a closed position in which passage of air through the valve between the first air inlet and first air outlet is substantially prevented. The operating means opens the closing member. The valve or valve assembly also includes control means for retaining the closing member in an open position on receipt of an electrical signal, the signal being derived from an electrical braking system of the vehicle.

Abstract: An umbrella comprising a central shaft having an upper end and a lower end with the lower end including a handle incorporates a plurality of pivotable members each having a first end pivotally coupled to an upper end of the shaft and being circumferentially spaced about the shaft and oriented generally parallel thereto when the umbrella is in a collapsed condition. A plurality of flexible members are operatively associated with corresponding ones of the pivotable members. The flexible members are each expandable into a generally hoop-shaped configuration adjacent another end of the pivotable members when the pivotable members are pivoted from a collapsed condition to an operative position. The open umbrella appears as a canopy stretched over a plurality of circumferentially spaced ribs with each rib terminating in a hoop-shaped member.