1. A sensor assembly for use in a hatch position notification system on a tank car, the sensor assembly comprising:
a hollow rod sleeve having a top end, a bottom end, and a side, wherein the side of the hollow rod sleeve has a hole through which an actuating member can pass;
an actuator rod within the hollow rod sleeve, the actuator rod having a top end, a bottom end, and an engagement notch, wherein the engagement notch is located proximate to the hole in the hollow rod sleeve;
a spring within the hollow rod sleeve, the spring having a top end and a bottom end, wherein the bottom end of the spring is adjacent to a fixed surface, and the top end of the spring is adjacent to the bottom end of the actuator rod;
a 2-position electrical switch, the switch having an actuating member substantially perpendicular to the actuator rod, wherein the actuating member extends from the electrical switch through the hole in the hollow rod sleeve and wherein the actuating member has a curved end that contacts the actuator rod,
wherein, when a hatch is in the open position, the spring is extended and the actuator rod is positioned such that the curved end of the actuating member of the 2-position electrical switch makes contact with the actuator rod at a point other than the engagement notch, which places the 2-position electrical switch in a first position indicating that the hatch is opened; and
wherein, when the hatch is in a closed position, the hatch causes the actuator rod to move and compress the spring, which causes the actuator rod to be positioned such that the curved end of the actuating member of the 2-position electrical switch makes contact with actuator rod at the engagement notch, which places the 2-position electrical switch in a second position indicating that the hatch is closed.
2. The sensor assembly of claim 1 further comprising a baseplate, wherein the baseplate has a first planar region for mounting the baseplate to the tank car and a second planar region for mounting the electrical switch to the baseplate, wherein the bottom of the hollow rod sleeve is connected substantially perpendicular to the first planar region of the baseplate, and wherein the bottom of the spring is adjacent to the first planar region of the baseplate.
3. The sensor assembly of claim 2 further comprising a retaining mechanism for preventing the actuator rod from exiting the hollow rod sleeve, the retaining mechanism comprising a fastener which passes through a hole in the side of the hollow rod sleeve, and which is in movable contact with a longitudinal retaining notch on the actuator rod.
4. The sensor assembly of claim 3 further comprising an alignment plate having a bottom and a side for aligning the hollow rod sleeve substantially perpendicularly relative to the baseplate, wherein the bottom of the alignment plate is connected to the first planar region of the baseplate and the side of the alignment plate is connected to the hollow rod sleeve.
5. The sensor assembly of claim 2 wherein the first planar region of the baseplate has at least one hole for mounting the baseplate to an adjacent surface on the tank car.
6. The sensor assembly of claim 2 wherein the first planar region of the baseplate has at least one slot for mounting the baseplate to an adjacent surface on the tank car.
7. The sensor assembly of claim 2 wherein the second planar region of the baseplate has at least one hole for mounting the electrical switch to the baseplate.
8. The sensor assembly of claim 1 wherein the actuator rod is substantially cylindrical.
9. The sensor assembly of claim 1 wherein the engagement notch on the actuator rod consists of full a circumference notch in the actuator rod, wherein the notch has a beveled upper section, a cylindrical center section, and a beveled lower section.
10. The sensor assembly of claim 1 further comprising an extender movably connected to the top end of the actuator rod, wherein the extender has a curved head for contacting the hatch and wherein the length of the extender can be adjusted relative to the top end of the actuator rod.
11. The sensor assembly of claim 1 wherein the curved end of the actuating member of the 2-position electrical switch comprises a rotatable wheel.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A bioprosthetic device for soft tissue attachment, reinforcement, andor reconstruction, the device comprising
a naturally occurring extracellular matrix portion, and
a synthetic portion coupled to the naturally occurring extracellular matrix portion.
2. The bioprosthetic device of claim 1, wherein the naturally occurring extracellular matrix portion of claim 1 is an SIS portion.
3. The bioprosthetic device of claim 2, wherein the SIS portion is dehydrated and is formed to include a top tissue layer of SIS coupled to a bottom tissue layer of SIS and the synthetic portion is coupled to and positioned to lie between the top tissue layer and the bottom tissue layer.
4. The bioprosthetic device of claim 3, wherein the synthetic portion includes at least one mesh member.
5. The bioprosthetic device of claim 4, wherein the mesh member includes a length, L1, and a width, W1, equal to or greater than a length, L2, and a width, W2, of the SIS portion.
6. The bioprosthetic device of claim 4, wherein the SIS portion is circular in shape and defines a diameter, D1, and the mesh member is circular in shape and defines a diameter, D2, and further wherein D2 is greater than D1.
7. The bioprosthetic device of claim 3, wherein the synthetic portion includes a row of fibers positioned to lie in coplanar relation to one another along a length, L, of the SIS portion and a row of fibers positioned to lie in coplanar relation to one another along a width, W, of the SIS portion.
8. The bioprosthetic device of claim 3, wherein the synthetic portion includes at least one fiber positioned to lie along a length, L, of the SIS portion.
9. The bioprosthetic device of claim 8, wherein the fiber includes outer end portions and a middle portion coupled to and positioned to lie between the outer end portions so that the middle portion of the fiber is positioned to lie between the top and the bottom tissue layers of the SIS portion and the outer end portions of the fiber are positioned to extend beyond the length, L, of the SIS portion.
10. The bioprosthetic device of claim 2, wherein the SIS portion includes multiple sections of SIS each separated by the synthetic portion and wherein each section of SIS includes multiple layers of SIS tissue.
11. The bioprosthetic device of claim 10, wherein the synthetic portion includes a mesh member coupled to at least one section of SIS.
12. The bioprosthetic device of claim 11, wherein the mesh member has a surface area larger than a surface area of the synthetic portion.
13. The bioprosthetic device of claim 2,
wherein the SIS portion is dehydrated and includes a first end, a second end positioned to lie in spaced-apart relation to the first end, and opposite sides each coupled to and positioned to lie between the first end and the second end, and
wherein the synthetic device comprises a fiber, the fiber including outer end portions and a middle portion coupled to and positioned to lie between the outer end portions so that the middle portion is coupled to the SIS portion and the outer portions are positioned to extend beyond the first and second ends of the SIS portion and are formed to anchor the bioprosthetic device to the soft tissue.
14. The bioprosthetic device of claim 2, wherein the synthetic portion includes a mesh member.
15. The bioprosthetic device of claim 14, wherein the mesh member is coated with comminuted SIS.
16. The bioprosthetic device of claim 15, wherein the mesh member is bioabsorbable.
17. The bioprosthetic device of claim 15, wherein the SIS portion is dehydrated and defines a length, L, and a width, W, and the mesh member defines the same length, L, and width, W.
18. The bioprosthetic device of claim 16, wherein the SIS portion defines a length, L, and a width, W, and the mesh member includes a central body portion having the length, L, and the width, W, and outer wing members coupled to the body portion and positioned to extend beyond length, L, and width, W, of the SIS portion.
19. The bioprosthetic device of claim 14, wherein the mesh is smaller than the SIS portion.
20. The bioprosthetic device of claim 16, wherein the SIS portion is circular in shape and defines a diameter, D1, and the mesh member is circular in shape and defines a diameter, D2, and wherein D2 is greater than D1.
21. The bioprosthetic device of claim 16, wherein the SIS portion defines a length and a width and the mesh portion defines a length and a width greater than the length and width of the SIS portion.
22. The bioprosthetic device of claim 14, wherein the SIS portion is circular and defines a diameter and the mesh portion is circular and defines a diameter greater than the diameter of the SIS portion.
23. The bioprosthetic device of claim 2, wherein the synthetic portion further includes a row of fibers positioned to lie in spaced-apart, coplanar relation to one another.
24. The bioprosthetic device of claim 23, wherein the fibers are bioabsorbable.
25. The bioprosthetic device of claim 23, wherein the fibers are non-bioabsorbable.
26. The bioprosthetic device of claim 24, wherein the rate of absorption of the fibers is slower than the rate of absorption of the SIS portion.
27. The bioprosthetic device of claim 2, further comprising means for reinforcing the bioprosthetic device.
28. The bioprosthetic device of claim 27, wherein the means for reinforcing the bioprosthetic device comprise a layer of comminuted SIS coating the synthetic device.
29. The bioprosthetic device of claim 1, wherein the synthetic portion comprises a material selected from the group consisting of Prolene, Vicryl, Mersilene, PDS II, Panacryl, and Monocryl.
30. The bioprosthetic device of claim 29, wherein the synthetic portion comprises PDS II or Panacryl.
31. A bioprosthetic device for soft tissue attachment, reinforcement, andor reconstruction, the device comprising
a top section of small intestinal submucosa (SIS) including multiple SIS tissue layers each having a surface area, A1,
a bottom section of SIS including multiple SIS tissue layers each having the same surface area, A1, and a mesh device having a surface area, A2, greater than the surface area A1 and being coupled to and positioned to lie between the top and bottom sections of SIS.