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| 20090299148 | Retraction Apparatus and Method of Use - A retraction apparatus and method are provided including slider assemblies for being slidably connected to a retractor body with end portions of the slider assemblies disposed within a central retractor opening. A retractor blade is slidably connected to one of the slider assembly end portions such that the depth of the retractor blade can be readily adjusted. Once the retractor blade is at the desired depth within the incision, a handle is pivoted to a locked position to fix the blade relative to the slider assembly. A cantilever lock between the blade and the slider assembly pivots the blade relative to the slider assembly to fix the blade thereto. In one form, the retractor body has a substantially flat surface configured to be placed adjacent a bone and slide connections which position slider assemblies such that the connected blades avoid contact with the bone during retraction. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20100312279 | Minimally Invasive Surgical System - A multi-stage minimally invasive surgical procedure and associated instruments are disclosed. First, the surgical site is prepared. After preparation, the bone screws or anchors are attached to the bone. Subsequent to insertion of the screws, a rod or connecting member is positioned within the yoke portion of the bone screw. Caps are then placed in a pre-lock position within the yokes. The bone screws may be compressed together or distracted along the rod or connecting member, thereby setting the final spacing of the bones or bone segments. Finally the caps are moved to a final lock position to fix the screws to the rod or connecting member to maintain the bones in position relative to each other. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20110202096 | Spinal Rod and Screw Securing Apparatus and Method - A minimally invasive and open surgery surgical system for implanting spinal screw assemblies to be connected by a spinal rod is disclosed. In one form, the system includes an improved tool device for inserting a cap insert into an initial and final locking of a screw assembly and securing a spinal rod inserted through an incision to a vertebra. In another form, the system also includes a screw fixation system that allows greater variability in thread diameter for orthopedic implant for in the spine, iliac crest, or bones. | 08-18-2011 |
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| 20100281313 | DYNAMICALLY GENERATED WEB SURVEYS FOR USE WITH CENSUS ACTIVITIES, AND ASSOCATED METHODS - Certain example embodiments disclosed herein relate to online survey systems and/or methods. In certain example embodiments, the questions to be asked are substantially insulated from an application that asks the questions. This abstraction may be accomplished in certain example embodiments by dynamically generating a computer-accessible (e.g., web-based) survey from one or more definition files. For example, a survey may be defined via a response definition file and a user interface definition file, thereby enabling the definition files to be read and the survey to be presented with the appropriate questions, validations, and transformations being specified by the response definition file, and with the look and feel being specified by the user interface definition file. Answers to questions may be persisted for a respondent in a storage location remote from the respondent. Such online surveys systems and/or methods may be suitable for census-related activities. | 11-04-2010 |
| 20100281355 | DYNAMICALLY GENERATED WEB SURVEYS FOR USE WITH CENSUS ACTIVITIES, AND ASSOCIATED METHODS - Certain example embodiments disclosed herein relate to online survey systems and/or methods. In certain example embodiments, the questions to be asked are substantially insulated from an application that asks the questions. This abstraction may be accomplished in certain example embodiments by dynamically generating a computer-accessible (e.g., web-based) survey from one or more definition files. For example, a survey may be defined via a response definition file and a user interface definition file, thereby enabling the definition files to be read and the survey to be presented with the appropriate questions, validations, and transformations being specified by the response definition life, and with the look and feel being specified by the user interface definition file. Answers to questions may be persisted for a respondent in a storage location remote from the respondent. Such online surveys systems and/or methods may be suitable for census-related activities. | 11-04-2010 |
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| 20100219105 | RF HEATING TO REDUCE THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTAL WATER ADDED IN THE RECOVERY OF UNCONVENTIONAL OIL - Equipment and a process for separating bitumen from oil sand in a process stream are disclosed. The equipment includes several processing vessels and one or more local area radio frequency applicators to selectively heat the process stream in local areas of the equipment. The local area can be adjacent to an input or output of a component of the equipment. Also disclosed is equipment for processing an oil sand—water slurry, including a slurrying vessel, a slurry pipe, and a local area radio frequency applicator. The local area radio frequency applicator is located outside of the slurry pipe, and heats the local area without significantly heating the contents of the slurrying vessel or of the downstream portion of the slurry pipe. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100219106 | CONSTANT SPECIFIC GRAVITY HEAT MINIMIZATION - A process of regulating the water content of water-fluidized oil sand ore during processing of the ore is disclosed. The weight (m | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100219843 | DIELECTRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF BITUMINOUS FROTH - An aspect of the invention concerns a method of determining the permittivity of a substance using a probe having known dielectric characteristics, a planar end surface normal to the axis of the probe, a signal source, and a signal receiver. In this aspect, the method is carried out by contacting the substance with the planar end surface of said probe to form an interface between the probe and the substance. The method further involves measuring the reflection coefficient of the substance by (1) transmitting a signal through the probe to the interface, (2) receiving the signal reflected from the interface, and (3) comparing said transmitted and reflected signals, and then calculating the permittivity of said substance from the reflection coefficient as so measured. Another aspect of the invention concerns a method of heating a substance, such as bituminous froth, by determining the permittivity of a substance, and providing a radiation source physically and electrically spaced from the substance, with the radiation source having an impedance approximating the complex conjugate impedance of the substance. | 09-02-2010 |
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| 20100033339 | LOCAL POSITIONING SYSTEMS AND METHODS - A local positioning system uses at least one node to track a location of a mobile tag. The system measures flight times of signals communicated between the node and the tag to determine values indicative of the range of the tag from the node. If desired, the values may be filtered in an effort to increase the accuracy of the range estimation. As an example, a Kalman filtering algorithm may be used. Multiple antennas are used at both the node and the tag to provide more accurate range estimates and to determine when the tag is entering a dead zone where signals are blocked or attenuated by obstacles. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20110252597 | SELF-ADJUSTING DOOR CLOSER - A self-adjusting door closer is disclosed. The door closer is self powered and includes a control unit to intelligently control a valve within the door closer to vary the operating characteristics of the door closer as needed. The controller includes a position sensor to determine a position of the door, and at least one input switch to enable user selection of at least one door closer parameter for an installed door closer. The control circuitry is operable to set the valve in response to the user selection of the door closer parameters, and the position of the door, in order to control force exerted by the door closer on the door. A generator can be provided to provide electricity to power the controller and store power to operate the controller. | 10-20-2011 |
| 20110252598 | DOOR CLOSER WITH SELF-POWERED CONTROL UNIT - A door closer with a self-powered control unit is disclosed. The control unit for the door closer includes a drive gear configured to rotate in response to movement of a door, and a chain arranged to cooperate with the drive gear to produce linear motion in response to rotation of the drive gear. At least one gear creates rotational motion from the linear motion of the chain to turn a generator and generate electricity to power the control unit. In some embodiments, a set of clutch gears is disposed between the chain and the gear creating the rotational motion from the chain so that only one direction of the rotational motion is transferred to the generator in response to movement of the door in any direction. The control unit can additionally include a power management circuit to store energy from the generator. | 10-20-2011 |
| 20110254657 | DOOR CLOSER WITH TEACH MODE - A door closer with a teach mode is disclosed. The door closer that can be self powered and includes a control unit to intelligently control a valve within the door closer to vary the operating characteristics of the door closer as needed. The control unit includes a teach mode that can be invoked at installation time, or any other time, so that appropriate information can be stored in memory regarding an installation configuration, relative jamb position, swing (right or left handed) and other parameters. These values can be accessed by control circuitry in the controller for use in controlling the door closer during operation. | 10-20-2011 |
| 20110257790 | DOOR CLOSER WITH DYNAMICALLY ADJUSTABLE LATCH REGION PARAMETERS - A door closer with dynamically adjustable latch region parameters is disclosed. Embodiments of the present invention include a door closer with a control unit to intelligently control a valve to vary the operating characteristics of the door closer as needed. The control unit can repeatedly determine whether a door has reached jamb upon closing. A setting or settings for the latch region of the door can be adjusted when the door does not reach jamb. These adjustments are such that the likelihood of the door reaching jamb upon closing is increased. Jamb successes can also be monitored, so that once there have been enough successful closes, settings can be adjusted to decrease the force on the door so that the latch region parameters are constantly adjusted for changing conditions to achieve closing success with the minimum closing force necessary. | 10-20-2011 |
| 20110257796 | DOOR CLOSER WITH CALIBRATION MODE - A door closer with an automated calibration mode is disclosed. The door closer that can be self powered and includes a control unit to intelligently control a valve within the door closer to vary the operating characteristics of the door closer as needed. The control unit includes a calibration mode that can be invoked to match the control unit to the mechanical door closer assembly. A plurality of positional values being output encoders coupled to an arm of the door closer and the motor for the valve can be determined. The positional values from the encoders and the positions that they indicate can then be stored in a memory within the controller for use during normal operation of the door closer. | 10-20-2011 |
| 20110257797 | DOOR CLOSER ASSEMBLY - A door closer comprises a piston cooperating with a rotating pinion. Upon rotation of the pinion in the door opening direction, the piston moves toward the second end of the housing forcing fluid from a second variable volume chamber through a passage to a first variable volume chamber and compressing a spring assembly for storing energy. The spring assembly urges the piston toward the first end of the housing for forcing fluid from the first variable volume chamber to the second variable volume chamber and rotating the pinion in the door closing direction. A controller controls the position of a valve in the passage based on the sensed angular position of a door and the position of the valve for determining the amount of hydraulic fluid flowing through the valve. | 10-20-2011 |
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| 20100028685 | CROSS-LINKABLE SILICONE COMPOSITION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF NON-STICK COATINGS FOR FLEXIBLE SUPPORTS AND ATTACHMENT PROMOTING ADDITIVE CONTAINED IN THIS COMPOSITION - Silicone composites subject to reticulation or reticulated, particularly for creating a coating or water-repellent and anti-adhesive film for flexible substrates such as paper or similar in the form of natural or synthetic polymer films. These compounds contain reticulating polyorganosiloxanes that have SiH units and unsaturated polyorganosiloxanes, preferably vinylated, suitable for reacting with the reticulating agent in an addition reaction and in the presence of platinum to form the reticulated anti-adhesive coating on the flexible substrate, plus at least one additive (D) to promote adhesion to it. A new liquid silicone compound can be applied without using a solvent, which is beneficial, that can be reticulated instantly to produce an anti-adhesive and/or water-repellent coating for the flexible substrate, giving very high quality reticulated silicone coatings, particularly in terms of sticking/adhering to the substrate, being harder to rub off and the anti-adhesion profile (sufficiently increase detaching force at high speed. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20110257288 | CROSS-LINKABLE SILICONE COMPOSITION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF NON-STICK COATINGS FOR FLEXIBLE SUPPORTS AND ATTACHMENT PROMOTING ADDITIVE CONTAINED IN THIS COMPOSITION - Silicone composites subject to reticulation or reticulated, particularly for creating a coating or water-repellent and anti-adhesive film for flexible substrates such as paper or similar in the form of natural or synthetic polymer films. These compounds contain reticulating polyorganosiloxanes that have SiH units and unsaturated polyorganosiloxanes, preferably vinylated, suitable for reacting with the reticulating agent in an addition reaction and in the presence of platinum to form the reticulated anti-adhesive coating on the flexible substrate, plus at least one additive (D) to promote adhesion to it. A new liquid silicone compound can be applied without using a solvent, which is beneficial, that can be reticulated instantly to produce an anti-adhesive and/or water-repellent coating for the flexible substrate, giving very high quality reticulated silicone coatings, particularly in terms of sticking/adhering to the substrate, being harder to rub off and the anti-adhesion profile (sufficiently increase detaching force at high speed. | 10-20-2011 |
