Abstract: A vehicle seat assembly comprises a seat bottom having a bottom cushion, a seat back coupled to the seat bottom with the seat back having a back cushion, and at least one of the bottom cushion and the back cushion having a passage. The assembly further includes a flow control layer coupled to the cushion having the passage with the flow control layer defining a first support area having a first plurality of slits and a second support area, adjacent to the first support area, having a second plurality of slits. Each slit defines a width that is moveable between a restricted position and a free-flowing position. The width of the first slits can move to the free-flowing position while the width of the second slits remains in the restricted position when the first support area receives a first load for flowing air through the first slits and the passage.

Abstract: A vehicle seat assembly comprises a seat bottom having a bottom cushion, a seat back coupled to the seat bottom with the seat back having a back cushion, and at least one of the bottom cushion and the back cushion having a passage. The assembly further includes a flow control layer coupled to the cushion having the passage with the flow control layer defining a first support area having a first plurality of slits and a second support area, adjacent to the first support area, having a second plurality of slits. Each slit defines a width that is moveable between a restricted position and a free-flowing position. The width of the first slits can move to the free-flowing position while the width of the second slits remains in the restricted position when the first support area receives a first load for flowing air through the first slits and the passage.

Abstract: A metering apparatus for determining a characteristic of a fluid, such as the volumetric flow rate, flowing through a non-linear section of a pipe is disclosed having a first strain gauge mountable to the non-linear section of the pipe offset from the bending neutral axis of the non-linear section of the pipe, to detect a bending force on the non-linear section of the pipe induced by the inertia of the fluid flowing through the pipe. A second strain gauge is mountable to the pipe disposed on the bending neutral axis of the non-linear section of the pipe, to detect at least one of the hoop strains, longitudinal strains and radial strains imparted on the pipe by the pressure of the fluid flowing through the pipe. A controller is configured to determine the mass flow rate of fluid flowing through the pipe based on the bending force determined by the first strain gauge and the at least one of the hoop strains, longitudinal strains and radial strains determined by the second strain gauge.

Abstract: A metering apparatus for determining a characteristic of a fluid, such as the volumetric flow rate, flowing through a non-linear section of a pipe is disclosed having a first strain gauge mountable to the non-linear section of the pipe offset from the bending neutral axis of the non-linear section of the pipe, to detect a bending force on the non-linear section of the pipe induced by the inertia of the fluid flowing through the pipe. A second strain gauge is mountable to the pipe disposed on the bending neutral axis of the non-linear section of the pipe, to detect at least one of the hoop strains, longitudinal strains and radial strains imparted on the pipe by the pressure of the fluid flowing through the pipe. A controller is configured to determine the mass flow rate of fluid flowing through the pipe based on the bending force determined by the first strain gauge and the at least one of the hoop strains, longitudinal strains and radial strains determined by the second strain gauge.

Abstract: A glazing unit is provided in which a two part bush is provided such that relative movement between a fastener, a glazing component and a wing skin is permitted, thus avoiding stress concentrations and lowering risk of damage in use.

Abstract: A watercraft includes a stern flotation compartment. The hull is carved out underneath the gunwales to admit a vertical cylindrical sleeve extending through the flotation compartment from top to bottom, and sealed top and bottom. A studded vertical mounting tube carrying an electric motor fits within a slotted cylindrical steering tube; the latter is carried on rotatable bearings affixed to the vertical cylindrical sleeve. A steering assembly is affixed to the slotted cylindrical steering tube and a guide tube fits closely within the vertical mounting tube. An electrical power cable is connected to the electric motor and a retraction assembly is affixed to the electric motor.

Abstract: A watercraft includes a stern flotation compartment. The hull is carved out underneath the gunwales to admit a vertical cylindrical sleeve extending through the flotation compartment from top to bottom, and sealed top and bottom. A studded vertical mounting tube carrying an electric motor fits within a slotted cylindrical steering tube; the latter is carried on rotatable bearings affixed to the vertical cylindrical sleeve. A steering assembly is affixed to the slotted cylindrical steering tube and a guide tube fits closely within the vertical mounting tube. An electrical power cable is connected to the electric motor and a retraction assembly is affixed to the electric motor.

Abstract: A watercraft includes a stern flotation compartment. The hull is carved out underneath the gunwales to admit a vertical cylindrical sleeve extending through the flotation compartment from top to bottom, and sealed top and bottom. A studded vertical mounting tube carrying an electric motor fits within a slotted cylindrical steering tube; the latter is carried on rotatable bearings affixed to the vertical cylindrical sleeve. A steering assembly is affixed to the slotted cylindrical steering tube and a guide tube fits closely within the vertical mounting tube. An electrical power cable is connected to the electric motor and a retraction assembly is affixed to the electric motor.

Abstract: A watercraft includes a stern flotation compartment. The hull is carved out underneath the gunwales to admit a vertical cylindrical sleeve extending through the flotation compartment from top to bottom, and sealed top and bottom. A studded vertical mounting tube carrying an electric motor fits within a slotted cylindrical steering tube; the latter is carried on rotatable bearings affixed to the vertical cylindrical sleeve. A steering assembly is affixed to the slotted cylindrical steering tube and a guide tube fits closely within the vertical mounting tube. An electrical power cable is connected to the electric motor and a retraction assembly is affixed to the electric motor.

Abstract: A glazing unit is provided in which a two part bush is provided such that relative movement between a fastener, a glazing component and a wing skin is permitted, thus avoiding stress concentrations and lowering risk of damage in use.

Abstract: A diagnostic testing system includes a network node comprising a controlling entity communicatively coupled to a network. The controlling entity communicates with a patient, a laboratory facility, and a medical decision maker over the network. The controlling entity controls the transfer of diagnostic data between the patient, the laboratory facility, and the medical decision maker over the network. The diagnostic data may be related to at least one diagnostic test on the patient.

Abstract: A computer-readable medium to direct a computer to function in a specified manner includes executable instructions to: create a data table characterizing data values; standardize changes between data values to produce standardized values; and apply a weighting factor to the standardized values to produce a data change index.

Abstract: An improved method for colorizing a digital halftone that uses both input color density and output halftone luminance to quantize and relocate color thereby reducing digital storage and transmission overhead capacity. The method utilizes a synergy between color and luminance inherent within the input image to enable the available space for color within the output luminance halftone to not exceed that necessary to allocate all of the input color information. An input color image is digitally reproduced using a separation of input primary color information from input grayscale information. A digital halftone, derived from the grayscale or luminance channel of a four-channel input image, is colorized by the invention's method of processing the remaining three additive or subtractive primary color channels. The halftone's two output colors are designated “black” and “transparent.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for testing fluid samples includes a sensor, which can be light source, directed to a flow cell and a photo sensor for detecting a light beam reflected from the flow cell. The photo sensor monitors the fluid in the flow cell by sensing the reflected light beam from the flow cell, thereby monitoring the test.

Abstract: An appartus for hanging items on a wall comprises a backing plate with a substantially square mounting plate portion and a plurality of apertures formed in the backing plate. The backing plate is anchored in a wall and then a supporting peg is inserted into one of the plurality of apertures. An item can then be hung on the supporting peg. By selectively adjusting the position of the supporting peg, the exact hanging location for the item can be quickly and easily adjusted, without altering the position of the backing plate.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for testing fluid samples includes a sensor, which can be light source, directed to a flow cell and a photo sensor for detecting a light beam reflected from the flow cell. The photo sensor monitors the fluid in the flow cell by sensing the reflected light beam from the flow cell, thereby monitoring the test process. The apparatus may have additional light source so that the photo sensor may monitor the test process by detecting the absorption light beam or fluorescent light beam from the flow cell at different phases of the test process.

Abstract: Disclosed is a point of care diagnostic system that includes an analytic cartridge adapted to receive a blood draw tube such that the cartridge can directly accept a blood sample from the blood draw tube. The cartridge is adapted to perform an assay on the blood sample and to produce an indication of an assay result entirely within the cartridge.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for testing fluid samples includes a sensor, which can be light source, directed to a flow cell and a photo sensor for detecting a light beam reflected from the flow cell. The photo sensor monitors the fluid in the flow cell by sensing the reflected light beam from the flow cell, thereby monitoring the test.

Abstract: An improved digital halftoning method that uses an input image's global gray levels to determine the local gray levels of a monochrome output image. Input multi-bit pixels grouped into two-pixel-by-two-pixel local subcells are variously aggregated into one or more larger supercells. The size of said supercell(s) is related to and limited by the size of the global input bitmap. A final monochrome gray level is derived from said supercell(s) and distributed within contained subcells. Subcell gray levels are expressed as interim whole monochrome pixels and gray level remainders. A comparison is made of the final supercell and the summed interim subcell monochrome gray levels. An ordering of the remainders is used for assignment of additional monochrome pixels, if necessary, to yield final subcell monochrome gray levels. Gray level rounding errors thus are quantized by reverse diffusion until a monochrome gray level for each of the global image's two-pixel-by-two-pixel local subcells is derived.

Abstract: An improved method of encoding and compressing digital halftones that utilizes a “none-of-the-above” method for designating variable-length runs. A monochrome input bitmap is rearranged slightly to reduce the patterns possible in contained digital halftone cells. This revised monochrome bitmap is parsed into subfiles to optimize run-lengths. The parsed subfiles are combined into a single file whose alternating runs of 1's and 0's are converted into successive variable-length binary numbers. One of the permutations of an antecedent binary is designated “none-of-the-above” and its use triggers a subsequent variable-length binary. All other permutations within each variable-length binary may designate a specific contained run-length and such use triggers a return to the initial binary in the series. The above method is reversed to decode and uncompress the encoded file to reproduce the original revised monochrome bitmap for display by a computer monitor or printer.