ca Convertible furniture system base and modular applications including armchairs, tables, and storage cabinets By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The present invention pertains to a modular furniture system in which a flat-foldable or easily assembled and disassembled rigid base structure composed of rectangular-cross-sectioned pieces each with specific dimensions serves variously, once assembled, as the supporting framework for a flat-foldable chair seat-and-backrest module, which configured together with the base structure serves as either an upright dining chair with armrests or as a lower and more reclined lounge chair with armrests, or alternatively as configured for supporting the connectable or foldable components of a flat planar surface module to be used for dining or to serve as a desktop, or alternatively as configured for supporting a storage cabinet module with drawers or doors. Full Article
ca Cabinet drawer floor and fence assembly By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 09 Jun 2015 08:00:00 EDT A cabinet drawer includes a molded drawer floor having a central portion including at least one depression, each depression having a bottom wall and a sidewall having an inner surface and an outer surface. A flange extends outwardly from an upper edge of each depression. A plurality of webs extends outward from each depression outer surface for connection with a drawer slide system. A peripheral edge of the flange includes a plurality of deflectable tabs for coupling to a surrounding fence without the use of fasteners. The fence includes a skirt portion extending downward from the drawer floor flange to hide any drawer slide mechanism coupling the drawer floor to any underlying base. Full Article
ca Method for the application of a permanent electrical contact to the web of rails By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 08:00:00 EDT Method for applying an electrical contact to a hole (2) of a metal wall portion (1), comprising the steps of providing a bush (12), a punch (11) with a shaft (16), an expansion portion (19) and a connecting portion (20) thereof, a pulling device (21) with an abutment portion (22) and a pulling mechanism (23) for engaging the punch (11) and to pulling it proximally with respect to the abutment portion (22), inserting the punch (11) in a passage hole (25) of the bush (12) so that the connecting portion (20) protrudes proximally from the bush and the expansion portion (19) is located on end (14), bush connecting the punch (11) to the pulling device (21), inserting the preassembled bush (12)-punch (11)-unit from a proximal side of the wall portion (1) distally in the hole (2) and activating the pulling device (21) to pull the punch (11) proximally through the bush, thereby radially expanding bush and permanently anchoring it in the hole (2). Full Article
ca Methods and apparatus for establishing electrical connections to a railroad rail By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 08:00:00 EST A method of making an electrical connection to a railroad rail includes fastening a wire bonding assembly to a railroad rail, the wire bonding assembly including first and second spaced apart washer plates contacting the rail and a metal bar supported by the washer plates. The metal bar is electrically connected with the rail with a first conductive lead contacting a selected point on the rail and a selected point on the metal bar. A second conductive lead is connected to another selected point on the metal bar for establishing an electrical connection to the rail from an electrical device. Full Article
ca Insulated foam bag and fabrication method By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 08:00:00 EDT An insulated container includes a first laminated structure having a metal layer and a second laminated structure having a metal layer. The metal layer of the first laminated structure faces the metal layer of the second laminated structure. The insulated container also includes a foam material layer disposed between the first laminated structure and the second laminated structure. The metal layer of the first laminated structure is bonded to the metal layer of the second laminated structure at a plurality of locations. Full Article
ca Stopper for closing a medical system By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 07 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A cylindrical stopper for closing a medical system and a method for closing a medical system, and to the medical system itself, closed with the stopper of the invention. Full Article
ca Data carrier card and method for manufacturing a data carrier card By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A card body for a portable data carrier, in particular a chip card or magnetic strip card, and a method for manufacturing a card body. The card body includes at least a coextruded foil having at least two areas with different material properties. By using coextruded foils a card body consisting of a plurality of alternating opaque and transmissive strips as well as a card body with a window can be formed in a simple fashion. Full Article
ca Locking apparatus for case and case having the same By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 14 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A locking apparatus for a case and the case having the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the locking apparatus includes an operating knob formed at an external surface of the case and a latch connected to the operating knob and configured to slide with respect to the case. The latch may include i) a body portion connected to the operating knob, ii) an opposite wall portion having opposite walls which extend from a first side of the body portion, iii) a hitch member formed on a second side of the body portion, wherein the first and second sides are opposing each other, and iv) a reinforcing member disposed between the opposite walls. Full Article
ca Bottom drop tee with door catch By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A catch for securing a door to an object includes an engagement member connected to the door engaging a receiving member of a mount on the object. The door includes a first arm with an oblong hole for pivoting about a pin connected to the mount, and an engagement pin. Moving the door from a closed position causes the engagement pin to rotate with the door about the pivot pin. The door slides downward along the pivot pin as the pivot pin travels within the oblong opening, and the engagement pin makes contact with the receiving member, thereby retaining the door in an open position. Moving the door upward moves the pivot pin downward within the oblong opening disengaging the engagement pin from the receiving member, allowing the door to rotate to a closed position. A latch opposite the first arm retains the door in a closed position. Full Article
ca Cap assembly for vehicle By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A cap assembly for a vehicle includes a base and a cap pivotally mounted to the base. The base can define a recess for receiving a component therein to be captured by the cap. The cap is moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position. The cap includes a locking feature that maintains the cap in the locked position and urges the cap to the locked position when nearly in the locked position. When the cap is in the locked position, the component is locked within the recess. When the cap is in the unlocked position, the component is removable from the recess. Full Article
ca Magnetic latch for safety applications with adjustable holding force By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A magnetic latch for industrial environments includes fixed magnetic pole pieces that may be sealed within a housing to resist environmental contamination and which provide for perpendicular engagement faces for use with gates having a rolling or swinging configuration. An RFID tag reader may be incorporated into the magnet assembly of the latch for reading a specially encoded RFID tag in a keeper portion of the magnetic latch. Full Article
ca Automatic method for milling complex channel-shaped cavities By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Mar 2015 08:00:00 EDT Methods and devices for milling a channel-shaped cavity by a five-axis computer numerical control (CNC) machine by selecting a workpiece to be machined, determining cutting tool flow along the channel-shaped cavity, determining cutting tool in-depth penetration, determining a trochoid path, and determining auxiliary movements. Full Article
ca Fully automatic self-service key duplicating kiosk By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 17 Mar 2015 08:00:00 EDT A self-service, fully-automatic kiosk for duplicating keys includes a kiosk housing having a customer interface for receiving payment from a customer for the purchase of at least one duplicate of the customer's key. A key-receiving entry in the housing receives at least a portion of the customer's key to be duplicated, and a key analysis system within the housing analyzes the blade of a key inserted in the key-receiving entry to determine whether the inserted key matches one of a group of preselected key types and, if so, which preselected key type is matched. A key blank magazine within the housing stores key blanks for each of the preselected key types. A key blank extraction system extracts from the magazine a key blank for the preselected key type matched by the blade of the key inserted in the key-receiving entry. Then a key duplicating system within the kiosk replicates the tooth pattern of the blade of the key inserted in the key-receiving entry, on the blade of the extracted key blank. Full Article
ca Key duplication machine By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 24 Mar 2015 08:00:00 EDT Apparatus, methods, and other embodiments associated with a key duplication machine are described. In one embodiment, an assembly for duplicating a master key includes an optical imaging device, a logic, a clamping assembly, and a cutting member. The optical imaging device is capable of capturing an optical image of at least a portion of the master key. The logic is capable of determining a key pattern of the master key from the optical image of the master key. The clamping assembly is capable of clamping a key blank and the cutting member is capable of cutting a key pattern into said key blank. Full Article
ca Method for producing conical or hypoid wheels using the plunging process By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method of chip-removal machining a tooth gap of a work piece includes executing a first substantially linear plunging movement of the cutting tool along a first plunge vector and machining a region of the work piece near a tooth head of a first tooth flank of the tooth. A substantially transverse movement of the tool along a transverse vector is then executed to machine a region of the work piece near a tooth head of the second tooth flank of the tooth. A second plunging movement of the cutting tool along a vector path is then executed, to an end point of the second plunging movement that lies at a position of the work piece corresponding to the slot depth of the tooth gap to be fabricated. The cutting tool is rotated about an axis of rotation thereof during execution of these steps. Full Article
ca Multi-key duplication, identification and cutting machine with clamp By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 08:00:00 EDT A key duplication system comprising a key duplication housing wherein at least one key receiving aperture on a first side of the housing sized to receive a key blade and at least one key clamp adjacent to the at least one key receiving aperture, the clamp comprising a first clamp arm with a surface topography corresponding to a first key blade surface topography and a second clamp arm with a surface topography corresponding to a second key blade different from the first key blade. Full Article
ca Stroke controller for a key duplicator By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 14 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A stroke controller is mounted on a key duplicator and has a base, a drive shaft, a knob and a driven shaft. The base has a longitudinal shaft hole and a transverse shaft hole. The drive shaft is mounted rotatably through the transverse shaft hole. The knob is mounted on the drive shaft and has a drive gear. The driven shaft is mounted slidably through the longitudinal shaft hole and has a rack section engaging the drive shaft so that rotating the knob drives the driven shaft to slide relative to the base. The stroke controller precisely controls the movement of an original key and a key workpiece clamped on the key duplicator to manufacture a fine key duplicate. Full Article
ca Translocation-simulating loading apparatus for gear grinding machine with shaped grinding wheel and detection method for stiffness distribution By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A translocation-simulating loading apparatus for the gear grinding machine with the shaped grinding wheel is provided. The apparatus includes a load-receiving test piece disposed on the gear grinding machine with the shaped grinding wheel and a load-exerting component for use in loading simulation. The gear grinding machine enables linear movements along the X, Y, and Z axes, a rotary movement around the Y axis, a rotary movement C around the Z axis, and a rotary movement A around the X axis. An angle α is formed between the axis L of a ball seat of the load-exerting component and the X axis direction of a Y axis component and an angle formed between the normal line of a load receiving face a and the X direction of the coordinate system of the machine tool is α. A detection method for static stiffness distribution is provided. Full Article
ca Method for processing difficult-to-cut cast iron By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT In a pilot hole of a workpiece made of a difficult-to-cut cast iron, a cutting tool having a leading end to which a cutting insert is attached is inserted to cut the surface of the wall of the pilot hole. At this time, the cutting tool rotates about an axis (α) and also revolves about another axis (β), so that contouring is performed on the workpiece by the tool. The cutting insert is formed of a sintered body having a CBN content of not less than 85% by volume, and the cutting insert has a thermal conductivity of not less than 100 W/(mK). Full Article
ca Micrometer case mouth chamfer tool By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A case mouth chamfer tool utilizes an easily adjustable cutter holder member. The adjustable cutter holder member slides in a dovetail, is adjusted by advancing and retreating a screw, and is held in place by a set screw. The case mouth chamfer tool may be fixed to a micrometer dial threadedly engaging a barrel. A case adapter bearing is fixed to the barrel. The case mouth chamfer tool is adjusted to cut an inside chamfer and the micrometer dial is rotated to adjust the position of the case mouth chamfer tool with respect to the case adapter bearing to precisely adjust the amount of material cut from the case. The case adapter bearing is easily changed to chamfer different cases. Full Article
ca Casting method for manufacturing a work piece By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method for manufacturing a work piece is provided. The method includes preparing fiberglass in a mold, preparing a closed mold cavity around the fiberglass, flushing the closed mold cavity with an oxygen-free gas, injecting resin in the closed mold cavity, and curing the casted work piece. Furthermore, a work piece manufactured by the above method is provided. Full Article
ca Wind turbine rotor and method of calibrating rotor blade pitch By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A wind turbine rotor includes a hub with a rotor blade mounted to a bearing of the hub wherein the rotor blade has a longitudinal axis extending in a radial direction relative to an axis of rotation of the hub, and the rotor blade is rotatable about its longitudinal axis whereby the pitch of the rotor blade is adjustable. The rotor blade has a tag such as an RFID tag fixed on the rotor blade at a predetermined angular position about the longitudinal axis of the rotor blade; and a sensor is fixed on the hub for contactless sensing of the tag when the tag is in a predetermined angular position about the longitudinal axis of the rotor blade. Repeated and accurate calibration of rotor blade pitch is hereby made possible. Full Article
ca Turbomachine blade or vane having complementary asymmetrical geometry By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A turbomachine blade or vane is made of composite material including fiber reinforcement obtained by three-dimensional weaving of yarns and densified by a matrix. The blade or vane includes a first portion constituting at least an airfoil exhibiting two faces each connecting a leading edge to a trailing edge, the first portion forming a single part with at least one second portion present only on one of the faces of the airfoil, the second portion constituting a portion of at least one of the following elements: a flowpath delimiting outer portion of an inner platform, an inner portion of an inner platform, a flowpath delimiting inner portion of an outer platform, and an outer portion of an outer platform, the portions of the fiber reinforcement corresponding to the first and the second portions of the blade being at least partially mutually imbricated, with yarns of the first portion of the fiber reinforcement penetrating into the second portion of the fiber reinforcement. Full Article
ca Trailing edge cooling using angled impingement on surface enhanced with cast chevron arrangements By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A gas turbine engine component, including: a pressure side (12) having an interior surface (34); a suction side (14) having an interior surface (36); a trailing edge portion (30); and a plurality of suction side and pressure side impingement orifices (24) disposed in the trailing edge portion (30). Each suction side impingement orifice is configured to direct an impingement jet (48) at an acute angle (52) onto a target area (60) that encompasses a tip (140) of a chevron (122) within a chevron arrangement (120) formed in the suction side interior surface. Each pressure side impingement orifice is configured to direct an impingement jet at an acute angle onto an elongated target area that encompasses a tip of a chevron within a chevron arrangement formed in the pressure side interior surface. Full Article
ca Chemical liquid injector and CT apparatus By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Chemical liquid injector 100 includes two piston driving mechanisms 130 each moving a piston of a syringe forward, main injection condition determining section 171 determining injection conditions for a chemical liquid in main injection, test injection condition determining section 172 determining injection conditions for the chemical liquid in test injection performed prior to the main injection to inject a smaller injection amount of the chemical liquid than that in the main injection, and control section 161 creating an injection protocol in accordance with the injection conditions determined by test injection condition determining section 171 and main injection condition determining section 172 such that the chemical liquid is injected in a series of operations in which the test injection is performed, then a preset injection suspension time is present, and subsequently the main injection is performed, and further controlling operation of piston driving mechanisms 130 in accordance with the injection protocol. Full Article
ca Arc-shaped medical imaging equipment By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Medical imaging equipment is provided. The medical imaging equipment comprises a support assembly, an arc-shaped member slidably mounted on the support assembly, a radiation source mounted on the arc-shaped member in the vicinity of a first distal end of the arc-shaped member and being oriented to radiate along the direction of an imaging axis, and a detector mounted on the arc-shaped member in the vicinity of the second distal end of the arc-shaped member and being oriented to face the source along the imaging axis, wherein the radiation source and the detector are respectively mounted on one side and the other of the mid plane of the arc-shaped member. Full Article
ca Medical imaging system for accurate measurement evaluation of changes By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system and method for nodule boundary visualization superimposed on a scan image, including generating phantom image measurements of at least one synthetic calibration object in relation to a body to calibrate a scanner; acquiring a first image of a nodule on the calibrated scanner; computing and marking a boundary on the image; displaying the first image with the boundary superimposed over the first image; presenting the initial boundary to a user for modification where the user can add one or more modification points to the image to create a modified boundary that is encompassed by the one or more modification points; once the user has marked the one or more modification points on the image, computing an updated boundary that adapts to include the new points. Full Article
ca System and method for denoising medical images adaptive to local noise By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A system and method is provided for estimating the local noise of CT images and denoising the images using a modified non-local means (NLM) algorithm that is adaptive to local variations of noise levels. A strategy for efficiently estimating the local noise of CT images is also described. Full Article
ca Medical image processing apparatus By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A medical image processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes: an imaging unit configured to image an affected area in two directions using X-rays; a fluoroscopic image generating unit configured to generate two X-ray fluoroscopic images corresponding to the two directions, on a basis of imaging signals outputted from the imaging unit; a rendering image generating unit configured to project the affected area contained in three-dimensional image data acquired in advance, in two directions according to a same X-ray geometry as that used for imaging the X-ray fluoroscopic images, to thereby generate two affected area rendering images; and an image combining unit configured to combine the X-ray fluoroscopic images with the affected area rendering images for each corresponding direction, to thereby generate combined parallax images in two parallax directions corresponding to the two directions, and to output the two generated combined parallax images to a 3D display apparatus. Full Article
ca Dual mode X-ray vehicle scanning system By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A variable mode X-ray transmission system is provided that can be operated in low or high dose rate modes depending upon the area or portion of the vehicle to be screened. In one embodiment, variable dose rate is achieved by use of a novel collimator. The systems disclosed in this application enable the scanning of a vehicle cab portion (occupied by people, such as a driver) at low dose rate, which is safe for human beings, while allowing the scanning of the cargo portion (unoccupied by people) at a high dose rate. Rapid switching from low dose rate to high dose rate operating mode is provided, while striking a balance between high material penetration for cargo portion and low intensity exposure that is safe for occupants in the cab portion of the inspected vehicle. Full Article
ca Amplified backscatter x-ray inspection system By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method and apparatus for inspecting an object. A radiation generation system is configured to emit radiation. A detector system is configured to detect backscatter formed in response to the radiation encountering the object. A redirection system is positioned relative to the detector system and is configured to redirect the backscatter to the detector system. Full Article
ca Dual energy backscatter X-ray shoe scanning device By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Dual-energy backscatter x-ray shoe scanning including: pre-processing input image information received from a shoe scanning device and image calibration data received from a database to output an atomic number image; detecting at least one suspect region based off the atomic number image; identifying the at least one detected suspect region as an object class using a changeable list of attributes; and classifying the object class according to a changeable list of categories. Full Article
ca Gain calibration technique for digital imaging systems By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A computer-implemented method for gain calibration is provided. The method includes sorting the calibration data of each pixel location from the offset-corrected X-ray image data into a sequence. The method also includes removing part of the calibration data from one end or both ends of the respective sequence for each pixel location. The method further includes averaging the calibration data remaining within each respective sequence to obtain an average pixel value for each pixel location. The method yet further includes generating a gain map based on the average pixel value for each pixel location. Full Article
ca Method for energy calibrating quantum-counting x-ray detectors in a dual-source computed-tomography scanner By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method is disclosed for energy calibrating quantum-counting x-ray detectors in an x-ray installation including at least two x-ray systems turnable around a center of rotation. A target, for producing x-ray fluorescence radiation, is positioned between the first x-ray source and first x-ray detector and irradiated with x-radiation of the first x-ray source in such a way that x-ray fluorescence radiation which strikes the second x-ray detector from the target is produced by the x-radiation of the first x-ray source. The second x-ray detector is then energy calibrated by way of the x-ray fluorescence radiation of the target. The first x-ray detector can be energy calibrated in the same way with the aid of the x-radiation of the second x-ray source. With the proposed method, the x-ray detectors of a dual-source CT x-ray installation can be calibrated with little expenditure under conditions close to those of the system. Full Article
ca Asynchronous operation of a rotary anode with reduced focal spot shake By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method for asynchronous operation of a rotary anode of an x-ray emitter, where a torque is exerted onto the rotary anode by an electromagnetic alternating field of a stator with a first frequency is provided. The method includes increasing the first frequency to a second frequency. The second frequency is a whole number multiple of an x-ray trigger frequency. The method also includes simultaneously changing an output of the alternating field such that a rotational frequency of the rotary anode remains unchanged. Full Article
ca Radiographing system, method of controlling automatic exposure in radiographing system, and radiological image detection device By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT A compensation circuit 76 of an AEC unit 67 of an electronic cassette 13 defines the detection signal of a detection pixel 65 of the electronic cassette 13 as a detection signal corresponding to the detection signal of an old AEC sensor 25. The compensation circuit 76 performs compensation so as to exclude the influence on the detection signal due to a difference in the configuration of an intermediate member disposed between an X-ray source 10 and an FPD 35 of the electronic cassette 13 when the detection pixel 65 is used as an AEC sensor instead of the old AEC sensor 25. The detection signal is transmitted from a detection signal I/F 80 to a detection signal I/F 26 of a source control device 11 as it is (instantaneous value) or as an accumulated value obtained using an integration circuit 77. Full Article
ca Medical image processing device By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Provided is a medical image processing device capable of determining a state of an obtained brain image and adjusting the obtained image to suit for performing tissue separation processing. The medical image processing device is configured to select a slice image to be processed as a target slice image from a brain image configured by a plurality of slice images, performs processing for measuring an effective maximum value in the cerebral parenchyma, an effective maximum value in a whole image, and a peak average value around the skull with respect to the selected target slice to determine necessity of high-signal-value-control processing based on the measured effective maximum value in the cerebral parenchyma, the effective maximum value in a whole image, and the peak average value around the skull so that when it is determined that the high-signal-value-control processing is necessary, the high-signal-value-control processing is performed to the brain image. Full Article
ca X-ray device and X-ray sensitive camera for panoramic tomography and 3D shots By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 03 Nov 2015 08:00:00 EST The invention relates to an X-ray device comprising an x-ray sensitive camera for creating tomograms, especially panoramic tomograms. Means for creating 3D shots of a partial volume of the mandibular arch are also provided, said 3D shots being created especially by a second image receiver for creating a 2D shot and means for taking a plurality of 2D shots from different directions and creating a 3D shot therefrom, preferably according to conebeam technology with the associated reconstruction algorithms. The x-ray sensitive camera comprises a first x-ray sensitive image receiver for creating a tomogram, and a second x-ray sensitive image receiver for creating plane shots. Full Article
ca High-contrast soap film magnification device By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A surfactant film viewing apparatus having a chassis, film wand, and film wand positioning means. The chassis is opaque and has a magnifying lens and a light aperture to allow ambient light into the interior of the chassis. The chassis, with the exception of the light aperture and the magnifying lens, forms an substantially closed surface. The film wand has a hoop suitable for supporting a surfactant film across its span. The apparatus includes a means for positioning of said hoop in said interior of said chassis such that the position of said hoop relative to the magnifying lens is stable but manually adjustable so the surfactant film can be positioned for viewing by said magnifying lens. The apparatus may include a reservoir for the surfactant/water mixture, and the means for positioning may also include a means for dipping the hoop in the surfactant/water mixture. In an alternate embodiment the wand has multiple hoops each of which is capable of supporting a surfactant film, rotation of the wand bringing the surfactant films sequentially into view. Full Article
ca Cognitive assessment and treatment platform utilizing a distributed tangible-graphical user interface device By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A cognitive disorder diagnostic system that employs cognitive cubes, gameplay associate with the cognitive cubes, and a data gathering as statistical analysis base device that may be a computer, that communicates the gathered data to a web server host according to a unique ID associated with particular cognitive cubes and further associated with a particular player. Using the statistical data gathered using the gameplay, various cognitive disorders may be successfully diagnosed and treated with higher reliability. Full Article
ca Activity monitor, method of calculating target activity amount, and storage medium By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT The activity monitor (100) includes a basic information acquisition unit (20) that accepts input of basic physical information (BA) of the user's body, a target information acquisition unit (30) that accepts input of the user's target physical expenditure (CS), an activity pattern acquisition unit (40) that acquires pattern information indicating the user's intent on the activity amount (AM), and a target activity calculation unit (50) that determines a target activity amount (TA) on the basis of the basic physical information (BA), the target physical expenditure (CS), and the pattern information acquired by the activity pattern acquisition unit (40). Full Article
ca Apparatus and method for rapid and precise application of cosmetics By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 08:00:00 EDT A method for selectively applying a reflectance modifying agent (RMA) to an area of skin, the method comprising receiving an image of the area of skin, identifying, using the image, a nominated point within the area of skin, determining an actual reflectance of the nominated point, applying an edge protection technique based on the image to generate one or more outputs, determining a desired reflectance of the nominated point based on the one or more outputs, calculating an amount of RMA to be applied based on the output, and determining whether to apply the RMA to the area of skin based on the amount of RMA. Full Article
ca Educational game for teaching addition and subtraction of whole numbers By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT An educational game for teaching addition and subtraction of whole numbers includes a carpet/game board including ten positively numbered spaces from +1 to +10 inclusive a 0 space and negatively numbered spaces from −1 to −10 inclusive and wherein said positive numbered spaces proceed upwardly in a generally zigzag direction from 0 to plus 10 and the negatively numbered spaces proceed downwardly from 0 to minus 10 and an extra space above the plus 10 and an extra space below the minus 10 wherein the extra space above the plus 10 is a win space and the space below the minus 10 is a lose space. The game also includes a single cube shaped die having six faces with an indication of plus 2, minus 2 and no movement on three of the faces and a plus 1, minus 1 and plus 1 plus and additional turn on the sixth face. Further, the game includes six game pieces of separate distinct colors. Full Article
ca System and method for cardiac defibrillation response simulation in health training mannequin By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Configurations for simulation of motions or movement in a health training mannequin for teaching purposes are disclosed. A cardiac defibrillation response simulation apparatus is configured to be housed separately from but interfaced with a health training mannequin to induce motion symptomatic response to electrical shock in the mannequin. In one embodiment a system comprises a motion inducer comprising a housing, an interface structure, and an actuator, wherein the interface structure is coupled to the actuator, movable relative to the housing, and configured to interface with a portion of a health training mannequin to induce motion in at least one portion of the health training mannequin. In another embodiment a method comprises interfacing a portion of a health training mannequin with an interface structure, the interface structure being coupled to an actuator and movable relative to a housing coupled to the actuator, the housing not being housed within a portion of the health training mannequin. Various hardware configurations are presented. Full Article
ca Medical injector simulation device By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT An apparatus includes a simulated medicament delivery device and an electronic circuit system coupled to the simulated medicament delivery device. The electronic circuit system is configured to output an electronic output associated with a use of the simulated medicament delivery device. Full Article
ca Combined cognitive and physical therapy By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The present invention provides method and apparatus to perform combined cognitive and motor rehabilitation on a computerized non-portable system or on single portable device. A patient can play a variety of games that require the patient to perform a variety of memory exercises which involve physical exertion. The activities of the patient are monitored with pattern analysis software which provides feedback to the patient. The feedback can include voice synthesis, video guidance, progression messages etc. Patient data obtained while the patient is performing each of the memory exercises is stored locally on a database module and then uploaded to a cloud server. A remote psychologist/psychiatrist monitors the patient by logging into the same cloud, and updating cognition exercises. The same therapist can have live chats with the patient for further interaction and coaching. Full Article
ca Systems and methods for multi-user multi-lingual communications By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT Various embodiments described herein facilitate multi-lingual communications. The systems and methods of some embodiments enable multi-lingual communications through different modes of communication including, for example, Internet-based chat, e-mail, text-based mobile phone communications, postings to online forums, postings to online social media services, and the like. Certain embodiments implement communication systems and methods that translate text between two or more languages. Users of the systems and methods may be incentivized to submit corrections for inaccurate or erroneous translations, and may receive a reward for these submissions. Systems and methods for assessing the accuracy of translations are described. Full Article
ca Training method and a device for carrying out said method By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 19 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The invention relates to training and can be used for learning and/or developing movement skills, fixing dynamic stereotypes and for training movement coordination. The aim of the invention is to provide a trainee with on-line correcting tactile feedback during training and to improve techniques and rate of a movement by bringing it as close as possible to a reference movement. The inventive training method consists, when learning a movement, in digitizing said movement, in comparing it with the digitized pattern of a reference movement and, if the trainee deviates from the reference movement, in receiving by said trainee a tactile feedback (tactile action) for on-line correcting said movement. The inventive device comprises sensors for on-line movement digitizing, a computer for comparing the thus obtained digitized movement with the reference movement (specified by an expert or simulated on the computer) for controlling the tactile feedback elements and said tactile feedback elements for performing the correction action. Full Article
ca Team-building educational training system By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT The team-building educational training system includes a mat and a plurality of reflective surfaces, such as mirrors. The mat has a top surface, a bottom surface, and a plurality of openings defined therein. The top and bottom surfaces each have a plurality of uniquely identifiable indicia displayed thereon. The reflective surfaces are placed on the floor or ground under the mat. The team cooperatively lifts and manipulates the mat to align the openings with the reflective surfaces so that at least one team member can view reflections of the indicia on the reflective surfaces. The team cooperatively interprets the indicia and completes a variety of planned exercises to learn skills for working as a team. Full Article
ca Educational apparatus By www.freepatentsonline.com Published On :: Tue, 26 May 2015 08:00:00 EDT An educational apparatus for educating, testing and entertaining individuals includes a rotatable spherical element, a planar support structure and a plurality of rollers for supporting the spherical element for rotational movement. The planar support structure defines an elevated planar surface with a circular opening therein. The rotatable rollers are hingedly mounted to the planar support structure around the opening for supporting the spherical element with a majority of the spherical element above the level of the planar support structure. A fixed element is fixed to the spherical element and a magnetic complimentary element is disposed adjacent the spherical element for contact by the fixed element. Full Article