Abstract: An article carrier worn around the waist and setting on the back and hips having side entry compartments that are accessible to the person wearing the article carrier while wearing the carrier and a compression system that provides stability of the load being carried.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for infusing medication into a patient's body using a medication chamber referenced to ambient pressure. The apparatus includes a medication chamber enclosed by a peripheral wall which includes a movable portion configured to transfer exterior ambient pressure into the chamber. Means are provided for exerting a negative bias force acting on the movable portion in a direction opposed to the ambient pressure force. Thus, the resultant pressure in the chamber will be negative with respect to ambient pressure, reducing the risk that the chamber can be overpressurized and produce an unintended medication discharge.

Abstract: An infusion device includes a disc-shaped housing that is made from a biocompatible material. The housing contains a reservoir for holding a volume of infusion medium, such as a medication to be administered to the patient. The inlet structure is coupled in flow communication with the reservoir, to allow the reservoir to be filled or re-filled. The housing has an outlet through which the infusion medium may be expelled.

Abstract: A circuit breaker that is capable of detecting ground faults as well as arc faults includes a at least a first current transformer, a line conductor extending through the current transformers, a circuit board, and a pair of sensing leads extending between the line conductor and the circuit board. In a first embodiment the line conductor is a relatively rigid line bus bar, and in a second embodiment the line conductor is a relatively flexible line shunt. The circuit board is disposed adjacent a first side of a separating wall within the circuit breaker, and the line conductor extends along the first side such that the sensing leads that extend between the line conductor and the circuit board do not pass through a plane defined by the separating wall. The circuit breaker includes a bimetal strip that is free of sensing leads that extend between the bimetal strip and the circuit board.

Abstract: An adjustable magnetic trip unit for a circuit breaker includes a torsion spring which applies a bias force to the plunger of a trip solenoid. The torsion spring is mounted on a driven bevel gear and wound by an adjustment knob coupled to a driving bevel gear to adjust the current at which the solenoid is activated. An indexer having peripheral flats which engage a seat in the circuit breaker housing provides a plurality of discrete positions of the adjustment knob. Depressing the adjustment knob against a second spring unseats the indexer for rotation of the adjustment knob between settings. In addition, a slide with an inclined surface bearing against the plunger and coupled to the driven bevel gear, provides simultaneous adjustment of plunger gap with adjustment of the torsion spring force to increase the range of adjustment.

Abstract: An adjustable magnetic trip unit for a circuit breaker includes a torsion spring which applies a bias force to the plunger of a trip solenoid. The torsion spring is mounted on a driven bevel gear and wound by an adjustment knob coupled to a driving bevel gear to adjust the current at which the solenoid is activated. An indexer having peripheral flats which engage a seat in the circuit breaker housing provides a plurality of discrete positions of the adjustment knob. Depressing the adjustment knob against a second spring unseats the indexer for rotation of the adjustment knob between settings. In addition, a slide with an inclined surface bearing against the plunger and coupled to the driven bevel gear, provides simultaneous adjustment of plunger gap with adjustment of the torsion spring force to increase the range of adjustment.

Abstract: A circuit breaker that is capable of detecting ground faults as well as arc faults includes a at least a first current transformer, a line conductor extending through the current transformers, a circuit board, and a pair of sensing leads extending between the line conductor and the circuit board. In a first embodiment the line conductor is a relatively rigid line bus bar, and in a second embodiment the line conductor is a relatively flexible line shunt. The circuit board is disposed adjacent a first side of a separating wall within the circuit breaker, and the line conductor extends along the first side such that the sensing leads that extend between the line conductor and the circuit board do not pass through a plane defined by the separating wall. The circuit breaker includes a bimetal strip that is free of sensing leads that extend between the bimetal strip and the circuit board.

Abstract: An implantable cardiac stimulation device including an activity/position sensor that incorporates a magnetoresistive sensor and a magnet that are positioned so as to move relative to each other in response to activity and the body position of the patient when the device is implanted in the body of the patient. In one embodiment, the sensor includes a magnetoresistive sensor that is made from giant magnetoresistive (GMR) materials. Preferably, a magnet is positioned on a flexible cantilevered beam so as to be positioned adjacent the magnetoresistive sensor. Movement of the patient results in relative movement of the magnet with respect to the magnetoresistive sensor and generates a signal having an AC component corresponding to a patient's activity and a DC component corresponding to the patient's body position.

Abstract: An implantable cardiac device including an activity sensor that incorporates a magnetoresistive sensor and a magnet that are positioned so as to move relative to each other in response to activity of the patient when the device is implanted in the body of the patient. In one embodiment, the sensor includes a magnetoresistive sensor that is made from giant magnetoresistive (GMR) materials. In another embodiment, a magnet is positioned on a flexible cantilevered beam so as to be positioned adjacent the magnetoresistive sensor. Movement of the patient results in relative movement of the magnet with respect to the magnetoresistive sensor. The signal can be used by the implantable cardiac device's processor for adjusting the delivery of therapeutic electrical stimulation such as by adjusting the pacing rate of pacing pulses being delivered to the patient's heart.

Abstract: A miniature circuit breaker providing arc fault protection and ground fault protection has a common rocker button that selectively deflects orthogonally oriented flat electrically conductive test switch spring contacts of an arc fault test circuit and a ground fault test circuit into engagement with a common contact to test each of these protection functions independently. The pivot axis of the rocker button is parallel to the planes of each of the test switch spring contacts and the button has opposed fingers which preload both of the spring contacts to bias the rocker button to a neutral position.

Abstract: A miniature circuit breaker has an arc fault detector and a ground fault detector each with its own test circuit. Test switches for the two test circuits are mounted on a printed circuit board and share a common test contact formed by a flat U-shaped leaf spring. The common test contact is deflected into engagement with another test contact for one or the other of the two test switches by a remotely mounted common test button through a common test actuating member which is moved generally rectilinearly by rocking the common test button.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a portable water safety monitoring device including a transmitter to be worn on a person, and a base station for monitoring any transmission from the transmitter indicating immersion of the transmitter in water. The device is particularly applicable for monitoring children near a swimming pool or other body of water to prevent drowning accidents. The transmitter is a compact printed circuit board carrying a capacitance water sensor and a sealed circuitry for detecting a change in capacitance and transmitting an alarm signal to the base station. Advantageously, on opposing sides of the printed circuit board large perimeter conductors provide a sensor able to register a varying level of capacitance. This can reduce false alarms due to incidental wetting. As a further advantage, the use of a compact printed circuit board eliminates any exposed leads in the construction, which could be damaged or disconnected by a child deactivating the monitor.

Abstract: A lead retention and sealing system for an implantable medical device comprises a lead receiving channel with an open end for slidably receiving a connecting end of an electrical lead and a closed end not open to an inner sealed portion of the medical device. The connecting end of the lead does not break the seal of the medical device. The receiving channel includes an electrical contact electrically connected with circuitry hermetically sealed within the medical device for mating contact with a respective portion of the lead when moved to a connecting position. A flexible seal mounted in the receiving channel sealingly engages the outer peripheral surface of the lead and retains the lead at the connecting position.

Abstract: A method and system for rapidly transmitting multicolor or gray scale display data having multiple bits per pixel to a display device is provided. In a preferred embodiment, the method and system constitutes a software facility. The facility first encodes the image into multiple bit per pixel raster data. The multiple bit per pixel raster data has a number of pixels. Each pixel stores a color value corresponding to the color of a particular region within the image. The facility then associates one or more single bit per pixel raster planes with the multiple bit per pixel raster data. Each single bit per pixel raster plane corresponds to a color value that appears in the multiple bit per pixel raster data. Each pixel of each single bit per pixel raster plane corresponds to a pixel of the multiple bit per pixel raster data, and indicates whether the corresponding pixel in the multiple bit per pixel raster data contains the color value of the single bit per pixel raster plane.

Abstract: An improved font format for displaying text-based characters on pixel-oriented display devices. The improved font format includes a simplified header that includes font information and a plurality of flags indicating one of a plurality of predetermined formats for the plurality of glyph bitmaps. The header also includes a flag indicating whether the font was derived from a bitmapped font and a flag indicating whether the font is stored as a small format (i.e., less than 64k) or a large format (i.e., greater than 64k). A movable glyph offset table and a movable advance width table are also provided. To facilitate antialiased textout, additional background mode values are provided to allow for a blending of the glyphs into the background.