What is claimed is:
1. A cover (20, 20) for a vessel (10) for reducing the evaporation of a liquid from the vessel andor the introduction of gases, especially of carbon dioxide, into a liquid (11) in the vessel, wherein the cover has at least one through opening (24) through which a pipette or another device can be inserted into the interior of the vessel from the outer space and the cover contains a material (23) which has taken up a liquid such that it releases moisture andor absorbs gas.
2. The cover of claim 1, further comprising an attachment means (21, 21) for attaching the cover (20, 20) to the vessel (10) or to a rack (30).
3. The cover of claim 2, in which the attachment means is a thread for screwing it onto the thread of a vessel.
4. The cover of claim 1, wherein the material is an absorbent substance which is impregnated with an aqueous liquid.
5. The cover of claim 4, wherein the aqueous liquid is alkaline in order to absorb carbon dioxide as well as to release moisture.
6. The cover of claim 1, wherein the material is surrounded by a housing (22) in such a manner that an escape of moisture into the outer space or an uptake of gases from the outer space is essentially restricted to the area of the opening.
7. The cover of claim 1, wherein the ends of the at least one opening (24, 24, 24) are closed prior to using the cover.
8. The cover of claim 7, wherein the opening is closed by a pierceable material.
9. The cover of claim 1, wherein a tube is connected to the opening which protrudes into the vessel when the cover is attached to the vessel for its intended use.
10. A system for storing liquids comprising a vessel (10, 10, 10) and a cover attached to the vessel (20, 20) for reducing the evaporation andor the introduction of gases, especially carbon dioxide, into a liquid in the vessel, the cover having at least one opening (24, 24, 24) through which a pipette or the like can be inserted into the vessel interior, wherein the cover contains a material (23) which has taken up a liquid such that it releases moisture andor absorbs gas.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the vessel contains a reagent liquid.
12. The system of claim 10, which has a rack (30) for holding two or more vessels and wherein the at least one cover (20) has openings (24, 24, 24) which correspond to the vessel openings.
13. A system with a cover for reducing the evaporation of liquids from vessels andor the introduction of gases, especially carbon dioxide, comprising a storage space (110) for holding at least one vessel (130) and a cover (120) with at least one opening (121), the cover containing a material (123) which has taken up a liquid such that it releases moisture andor absorbs gas, wherein the cover is arranged on the storage space in such a manner that gas flows through the opening when gas is exchanged between the storage space and the outer space and the cover releases moisture andor removes gases and is also arranged such that a pipette (140) or another device can be inserted through the at least one opening into the at least one vessel.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the material is impregnated with a liquid which releases moisture andor absorbs carbon dioxide.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the material is surrounded by an insulating material in such a manner that the escape of moisture into the outer space or the uptake of gases from the outer space is essentially limited to the area of the opening.
16. The system of claim 13, wherein the storage space has a transport device (112) which can be used to position the vessels in the storage space in such a manner that a pipette or another device can be inserted through the at least one opening into a vessel positioned for this purpose.
17. The system of claim 13, which has at least one closure device which can close the opening in such a manner that no gas exchange takes place between the device and the outer space.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. An all-terrain wheeled vehicle comprising:
a frame having a handle assembly extending from a first end thereof, said handle assembly for allowing a person to propel the wheeled vehicle;
at least one pair of large diameter wheels disposed on opposite sides of the frame;
a load carrier disposed intermediate the pair of large diameter wheels; and
a wheel positioning system including a wheel track adjuster for adjustably positioning said wheels a desired distance from each other and a wheel height adjuster for individually adjusting the height of each of the large diameter wheels with respect to the load carrier.
2. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein the large diameter wheels have a diameter substantially larger than five feet.
3. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein the large diameter wheels include suspension spokes.
4. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein the handle assembly includes two independently height adjustable handle arms.
5. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wheel positioning system comprises a pneumatic power supply, a wheel track adjustment pneumatic cylinder, a wheel height adjustment cylinder for each wheel and a pneumatic control system for controlling pneumatic power to each pneumatic cylinder to adjust the relative positions of each wheel with respect to the load carrier and each other.
6. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 5, wherein the pneumatic power supply includes a high pressure air tank containing a volume of high pressure air.
7. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 5, wherein the pneumatic control system includes a pneumatic valve assembly for directing pneumatic power to each pneumatic cylinder and a controller for controlling the valve assembly.
8. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 7, wherein the controller includes an electric power supply, an electronic valve controller and an operator input device for controlling the electronic valve controller.
9. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wheel positioning system comprises a manually adjustable wheel track positioner.
10. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wheel positioning system comprises a manually adjustable wheel height positioning system configured to independently adjust a wheel height of each wheel with respect to said load carrier.
11. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein said load carrier comprises a chair.
12. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein said load carrier comprises a baggage carrier for carrying baggage, tools, equipment and the like.
13. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1, wherein said load carrier comprises a stretcher for carrying an occupant in a prone position.
14. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a power assist drive mechanism.
15. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 14, wherein said power assist drive mechanism comprises at least one drive motor selectively engaging at least one drive hub provided on at least one vehicle wheel.
16. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 15, wherein said power assist drive mechanism comprises a rotating drive mechanism provided on each said drive motor, said rotating drive mechanism frictionally engaging a frictional drive surface on said at least one drive hub.
17. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 16, wherein said frictional drive surface comprises a toothed drive surface and wherein said drive mechanism comprises a toothed sprocket.
18. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 16, wherein said frictionally engaging, rotating drive surface comprises a smooth surface and wherein said drive mechanism comprises a friction drive wheel.
19. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a braking system.
20. The all-terrain wheeled vehicle of claim 19, wherein said braking system comprises a frictional braking system provided for at least one of said pair of large diameter wheels, said frictional braking system configured to frictionally engage a braking surface associated with at least one of said pair of large diameter wheels.