Recently Issued Patents

A book has a front cover having a first edge which is unconnected, and an opposing second edge which is connected to a spine. A back cover has a first edge which is connected to the spine and an opposing second edge which is connected to flexible joint or fold-line. The book has a third cover having a first edge which is connected to the flexible joint, that couples the third cover to the back cover, and an opposing second edge which is connected to binding. The front page is configured to fold back about the spine to retain the third cover proximal the second edge of the third cover to retain the book in a propped-up position for reading. A page holder slides along the left and right sides of the third cover and has an opening that allows a page to be pushed therethrough.

An electrochemical compressor incorporates an electrochemical cell having an anode and a cathode that reacts a working on the anode side into an ionic component and a reactant. The ionic component is transported through an ion conducting media to the cathode. At least a portion of the reactant passes through a reactant conduit that extends from the anode to the cathode. A transfer device, such as a pump or venturi valve configured along the reactant conduit allows the reactant to flow from the anode to the cathode. The reactant and the ionic component are reacted on the cathode to reform the working fluid. A reactant separator may be configured to selectively allow reactant into the reactant conduit. A reactant separator may be a perm-selective layer or a fluid that has high reactant solubility. The working fluid may be water with the ionic component protons and the reactant oxygen.

A tangle free protective roll and jewelry organizer including a smaller rectangular piece of pliable decorative materials upon which a longer rectangular piece of pliable rubberized material is attached.Whereupon the longer rectangular piece of rubberized material extends beyond the decorative material so that when the items are rolled the rubberized material contacts the items thus holding them in place securely and preventing the items from rubbing up against each other potentially causing scratches, tangling or other damage. The protective roll improves the packing process and simplifies it to a matter of laying the items perpendicular to the roll direction on the rubberized materials an inch apart in packingand simply unrolling the roll and lifting the item out to wear, use or put away at the arrived upon destination.

A manual split-end tool is configured to capture hair over a wedge and within a slot to expose split-ends for removal. The split-end tool has a wedge arm having a wedge that is configured to extend through the slot in a slotted arm. The split-end tool pivots open and closed and in one embodiment has an opening feature to force the slotted arm away from the wedge arm when the tool is in a closed configuration. Hair is captured over the wedge and captured between a first and second slot side. The tool can be slid down along a person’s hair, thereby enabling quick removal of split-ends along the length of a person’s hair. The wedge may have a smooth rounded extended end, a scalloped edge or a plurality of teeth.

A fabric having resilient prominences on at least one surface is described for improved thermal protection, drag reduction and quick drying. Resilient prominences are bulges that extend outward from a fabric surface and trap some volume of air or other material therein. For example, a resilient prominence may be dome shaped and extend outward from the fabric plane. A resilient prominence is resilient in shape, whereby the resilient prominence may be compressed and then popped back into substantially the original shape. Reflective and/or absorptive materials may be configured on the surface of the fabric to provide camouflage from IR cameras. Reflective material may be configured on the fabric to reflect heat back to the wearer of a garment made with the fabric described.

A work-station utilizes sound absorbing, translucent enclosure panels that allows light from outside of the work-station to enter. The translucent enclosure panels have an outside panel, and intermediate panel and an inside panel of a translucent plastic sheet material that form cells for dampening sound transmission through the enclosure panels. The inside panel has a plurality of apertures to allow sound to enter and be dissipated within the internal cells. A sound masking device is configured within the work-station and projects a dampening sound into the work-station, such as along the opening to work-station to produce a masking sound curtain for sound entering the work-station.

A dental mirror instrument has a light waveguide and an airflow conduit that extend along the length of an elongated member to a mirror portion. An airflow exiting from the airflow conduit may be directed over the mirror surface to remove fluids and debris. Light from a light source is transmitted along the light waveguide and is reflected off of a back-side of a land portion through a Fresnel lens to produce a task light. A mirror may have a hydrophobic surface and this surface may have raised portions or a patterned surface that further enhances the removal of fluids or debris. The optical component of the dental instrument may be detachable to a source component and may be disposable. A flexible connector may be coupled with the source component to provide an airflow to the airflow conduit and/or electrical power to the light source.

A high efficiency transverse flux motor fan utilizes a transverse flux motor that can provide torque to drive fan blades at a reduced weight over conventional induction and brushless DC motors. A fan incorporating a transverse flux motor may be a residential ceiling fan or high volume low speed fan. Transverse flux motors are ideal for these applications as they have a higher efficiency at low revolutions per minute. A transverse flux motor may have a stator utilizing a ring shaped lamina that has extending members that form a coil channel. A lamina may be a unitary piece of material that is formed from a sheet of metal, thereby providing a very lightweight stator assembly. An exemplary fan may provide an airflow efficiency of more than about 236 L/s*W, (500 CFM/watt), an essential airflow density of more than about 2.36 L/s*g, (5 CFM/gram) and a power density of about 150 W/kg or more.

An adjustable weight exercise ball and particularly a soft exercise ball has one or more handles that are formed from a strap extending around the perimeter of the exercise ball. The exercise ball may have no rigid or hard materials, such as no more than 50 shore A hardness. The generally spherical exercise ball may have a substantially smooth outer surface with no significant protrusions from the surface. In addition, an adjustable weight exercise ball has a single aperture for the insertion of weights through an access slot to a pouch configured within the interior volume of the ball. The weights inserted into the exercise ball may be conformable weights that mold to the interior pouch area within the exercise ball. The interior material of the exercise ball may comprise an elastomeric material that compresses and seals the access slot closed after weights are inserted therein.

A collapsible drying rod has an elongated support potion that is collapsible into at least three portions that can be disengaged, or pulled apart, and aligned with each other to provide a compact collapsed drying rod that is held together by an elastic tether. A collapsible drying rod may have a center support member and extensions that extend out from opposing ends of the center support member. An elastic tether may be configured within a conduit that extends along the length of the center support member and/or extensions. A collapsible drying rod may include a hanger portion that is attached to the center support member by a hanger retainer having a flexible extension that can be used to retain the collapsible drying rod to a support.