Author: claimsbot

1. A man-portable flexible fluid delivery system comprising:
a fluid bladder having a first inlet and a first outlet, the fluid bladder configured to contain liquid;
an inflatable component capable of being pressurized by inflation and having a second inlet, the inflatable component being formed adjacent to the fluid bladder, such that the fluid bladder and the inflatable component are integrated to form a pressurized fluid reservoir, the fluid bladder having a first exterior wall and the component having a second exterior wall with a common interior wall being shared between the fluid bladder and the inflatable component;
a seam element formed in a center portion of the fluid bladder and the inflatable component of the pressurized fluid reservoir, the seam element having an island shape which bonds the center portion of the fluid bladder and the inflatable component so as to control the shape of the pressurized fluid reservoir while allowing fluid on a first side of the seam element to communicate with fluid on a second side of the seam element, the seam element bonding the first exterior wall and second exterior wall to the common interior wall;
a pump associated with the second inlet of the inflatable component, the pump being configured to inflate the inflatable component of the pressurized fluid reservoir; and
a valve operatively coupled to the first outlet of the fluid bladder, the valve being capable of releasing the liquid contained in the fluid bladder of the pressurized fluid reservoir.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the inflatable component is inflatable with a gas.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the gas is selected from the group consisting of air, compressed air, carbon-dioxide, compressed carbon dioxide, noble gases, and mixtures thereof.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the pump is a manually operated pump to pump air into the inflatable component.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the pump includes a compressed gas source configured to release compressed gas into the inflatable component to inflate the inflatable component.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the valve is a compression valve configured to open under an applied compressive force.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the valve includes a bite shroud and the compressive force is applied by a user’s teeth.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the seam element comprises a line located in approximately the center of the pressurized fluid reservoir which extends in the direction of the length of the pressurized fluid reservoir.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the seam element comprises a plurality of seam elements which are aligned in approximately the center of the pressurized fluid reservoir so as to extend in the direction along the length of the pressurized fluid reservoir.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the seam element comprises a leaf-shaped seam located in approximately the center of the pressurized fluid reservoir.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a system for use as a hydration system for a human or a pet, a cooling system for a human, pet, piece of equipment, or fire, or a cleaning system for a human, pet, or piece of equipment.
12. A man-portable pressurized fluid reservoir configured to hold and selectively dispense a liquid through an outlet comprising:
a bladder portion configured to contain a liquid and having a first inlet capable of receiving the liquid and an outlet capable of dispensing the liquid;
an inflatable portion formed adjacent to the bladder portion, the inflatable portion having a second inlet capable of receiving a gas so as to inflate and apply a pressure on the bladder portion formed adjacent to the inflatable portion, the bladder portion having a first exterior wall and the inflatable portion having a second exterior wall with a common interior wall being shared between the bladder portion and the inflatable portion;
a seam element formed in a center portion of the bladder portion and inflatable portion, the seam element having an island shape which bonds the center portion of the bladder portion and the inflatable portion so as to control the shape of the bladder portion and the inflatable portion while allowing fluid on a first side of the seam element to communicate with fluid on a second side of the seam element, the seam element bonding the first exterior wall and second exterior wall to the common interior wall;
a pressure inducer associated with the second inlet of the inflatable portion being configured to inflate the inflatable portion by transferring a gas into the inflatable portion via the second inlet; and
a valve operatively coupled to the first outlet of the bladder portion, to the valve being capable of releasing the liquid contained in the fluid bladder portion.
13. The pressurized fluid reservoir of claim 12, wherein the seam element is configured to maintain a flattened shape in the pressurized fluid reservoir as the inflatable portion is inflated.
14. The pressurized fluid reservoir of claim 12, wherein the inflatable portion is inflatable with a compressible gas.
15. The pressurized fluid reservoir of claim 14, wherein the pressure inducer comprises a pump configured to pump a compressible gas into the pressure chamber to inflate the pressure chamber.
16. The pressurized fluid reservoir of claim 12, wherein the outlet capable of dispensing the liquid from the bladder portion includes a cap capable of preventing a wall of the inflatable portion from sealing the outlet of the bladder portion closed.
17. The pressurized fluid reservoir of claim 12, wherein the seam element comprises a line located in approximately the center of the pressurized fluid reservoir which extends in the direction of the length of the pressurized fluid reservoir.
18. The pressurized fluid reservoir of claim 12, wherein the seam element comprises a plurality of seam elements which are aligned in approximately the center of the pressurized fluid reservoir so as to extend in the direction along the length of the pressurized fluid reservoir.
19. The pressurized fluid reservoir of claim 12, wherein the seam element comprises a leaf-shaped seam located in approximately the center of the pressurized fluid reservoir.
20. A man-portable flexible fluid delivery system, comprising:
a fluid bladder having a first inlet and a first outlet, the fluid bladder configured to contain liquid
an inflatable component capable of being pressurized by inflation and having a second inlet, the inflatable component being formed adjacent to the fluid bladder, such that the fluid bladder and the inflatable component are integrated to form an pressurized fluid reservoir, the fluid bladder having a first exterior wall and the inflatable component having a second exterior wall with a common interior wall being shared between the fluid bladder and the inflatable component;
a seam element formed in a center portion of the fluid bladder and the inflatable component of the pressurized fluid reservoir, the seam element having an island shape which bonds the center portion of the fluid bladder and the inflatable component so as to control the shape of the pressurized fluid reservoir while allowing fluid on a first side of the seam element to communicate with fluid on a second side of the seam element, the seam element bonding the first exterior wall and second exterior wall to the common interior wall;
a pump associated with the second inlet of the inflatable component, the pump being configured to inflate the inflatable component of the pressurized fluid reservoir; and
a valve operatively coupled to the first outlet of the fluid bladder, the valve being capable of releasing the liquid contained in the fluid bladder of the pressurized fluid reservoir,
wherein the fluid bladder and the inflatable component are separated by a membrane wall, such that the membrane wall forms a wall of the fluid bladder and a wall of the inflatable component.
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. A method for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation, comprising:
evaluating a property of a system under test by said sensing circuit upon application of a trigger signal;
detecting said sensing circuit’s evaluation of said property of said system under test; and
providing a feedback control signal to restore said sensing circuit to its initial state so as to be available for another evaluation.
2. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the operation of storing a measurement relating to said property based on said sensing circuit’s evaluation.
3. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 1, wherein said sensing circuit’s initial state comprises a balanced state.
4. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 3, wherein said sensing circuit transitions from said balanced state to an unbalanced state pursuant to evaluating said property of said system under test.
5. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 1, wherein said system under test comprises a microprocessor and said sensing circuit is operable to evaluate data signals provided by said microprocessor’s inputoutput (IO) circuitry.
6. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 5, wherein said microprocessor and said sensing circuit are integrated into a system-on-chip (SOC) device.
7. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 1, wherein said feedback control signal is provided to said sensing circuit substantially immediately upon said detecting operation.
8. A method for mitigating the hysteresis effect in a data receiver interface circuit operable to sense data generated by a data circuit, comprising:
sensing said data generated by said data circuit in response to a control signal’s logic state, said control signal operating to toggle said data receiver interface circuit’s state between a balanced state and an unbalanced state; and
modifying said control signal’s logic state upon completing said sensing operation, whereby said data receiver interface circuit’s is transitioned from said unbalanced state to said balanced state.
9. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect in a data receiver interface circuit as set forth in claim 8, wherein said control signal’s logic state is modified substantially immediately upon detecting that said sensing operation is complete.
10. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect in a data receiver interface circuit as set forth in claim 8, wherein said sensing is performed by a sense amplifier (sense amp) comprising a plurality of silicon-on-insulator (SOT) transistors.
11. The method for mitigating the hysteresis effect in a data receiver interface circuit as set forth in claim 10, wherein said control signal is generated by a feedback control generator having a pair of zero catcher circuits operating in a complementary fashion.
12. An apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation, comprising:
a state monitor circuit operable to detect said sensing circuit’s state upon evaluating a property of a system under test; and
a feedback control generator coupled to said state monitor circuit for generating a control signal operable to transition said sensing circuit’s state to a balanced state, wherein said control signal’s logic state is capable of being modified substantially immediately upon completion of said evaluating operation.
13. The apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 12, wherein said state monitor circuit is operable to detect said sensing circuit’s state transition from a balanced state to an unbalanced state pursuant to evaluating said property of said system under test.
14. The apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 12, wherein said system under test comprises a data circuit portion operable to provide data out signals and said sensing circuit comprises a sense amplifier (sense amp) is operable to evaluate said data out signals.
15. The apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 14, wherein said sense amp comprises a plurality of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors operating to generate a pair of inverted data signals upon evaluating a data out signal.
16. The apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 15, wherein said state monitor circuit comprises an exclusive-OR (XOR) gate operating responsive to said pair of inverted data signals and said feedback control generator comprises a pair of zero catcher circuits operating in a complementary fashion, said zero catcher circuits operating to drive a multiplexer for propagating a particular logic state on said control signal.
17. The apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 16, wherein said state monitor circuit and said feedback control generator are fabricated using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices.
18. The apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 17, wherein said data circuit portion comprises an off-chip data inputoutput (IO) block of a microprocessor.
19. The apparatus for mitigating the hysteresis effect associated with a sensing circuit’s operation as set forth in claim 17, wherein said data circuit portion comprises a memory element.

1. Circuit comprising
signal input (11) for receiving an input signal (s(t)),
a digital output stage (15) being designed for operation at a supply voltage (VDD), the output stage (15) comprising
a series of two n-channel CMOS transistors (no1, no2; nsw1, nsw2) sensitive to voltages across transistor node pairs going beyond a voltage limit (Vmax),
a common node (17; SW1) between the two n-channel CMOS transistors (no1, no2; nsw1, nsw2),
an output port (16),
active voltage limiting means (14; INV3, pdio) being arranged between the signal input (11) and the common node (17; SW1) for limiting voltages (Vmax) at the common node (17; SW1) to the voltage limit (Vmax), the voltage limiting means (14; INV2, pdio) being controllable by the state of the input signal (s(t)) and comprising a plurality of transistors (pd, nd, pswn; INV3, pdio) for providing a limited and stable output voltage (VNM) at the common node (17; SW1), wherein one of the plurality of transistors is a p-channel CMOS transistor (pswn; pdio) serving as switch, the gate (18; 38) of the p-channel CMOS transistor (pswn; pdio) being controlled by the state of a signal derived from the input signal (s(t)).
2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein two of the plurality of transistors (pd, nd) are arranged as inverter for inverting the input signal (s(t)) in order to apply an inverted signal (svn(t)) to a gate (18; 38) of the p-channel CMOS transistor (pswn; pdio) that serves as switch.
3. The circuit of claim 2, comprising a pull-up resistor (Rp) being situated between the output port (16) and a node that is kept at a higher voltage (VDDH) that is greater than the supply voltage (VDD), the pull-up resistor (Rp) being provided to pull the drain (16) of one of the two n-channel CMOS transistors (no2) to the higher voltage (VDDH).
4. The circuit of claim 1 or 2, comprising a p-channel driver part with at least two p-channel CMOS transistors (po1, po2) arranged in series.
5. The circuit of claim 1 or 2, comprising a level shifter (22) providing for a voltage (VR) that is lower than the voltage limit (Vmax).
6. The circuit of claim 1 or 2, comprising speed boost means having at least one capacitive element (Cb) speeding up the turn-onturn-off behavior of one of the CMOS transistors (no1, no2; nsw1, nsw2; po1, po2).
7. The circuit of claim 6, wherein the charging of the capacitive element (Cb) depends on the state of a signal derived from the input signal (s(t)).
8. The circuit of claim 1 or 2 being made using a submicron fabrication process, preferably a deep submicron fabrication process.
9. Open-drain output stage comprising a circuit in accordance with one of the claims 1 or 2.
10. Push-pull-output stage comprising a circuit in accordance with one of the claims 1 or 2.

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 method of removing an obstruction from a blood vessel, comprising the steps of:
providing an obstruction engaging element and a catheter having an interlocking structure attached thereto, the obstruction engaging element being movable from a position within a lumen of the catheter to a position outside the lumen of the catheter;
advancing the catheter into an obstruction;
withdrawing the catheter after the advancing step so that the interlocking structure remains within the obstruction, the interlocking structure being attached to the catheter and extending distally from the catheter; and
moving the element so that the element becomes entangled with the obstruction and the interlocking structure.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with the interlocking structure being a loose, flexible structure;
the withdrawing step being carried out with the loose, flexible interlocking structure being held by the obstruction so that the loose, flexible structure remains within the obstruction.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein:
the advancing step is carried out with the interlocking structure being a loose, flexible structure which lies loosely against an outer wall of the catheter.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with the flexible structure including at least one filament.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with the filament having at least one radiopaque material attached thereto.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with the radiopaque material being formed as discrete beads, tubes or coils on the filament.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with the filament forming at least one closed loop.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with the interlocking structure including at least four closed loops.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with a plurality of closed loops having different sizes.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein:
the moving step is carried out by moving the element proximally into engagement with the obstruction after the withdrawing step.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein:
the providing step is carried out with the obstruction engaging element being naturally biased to an expanded position.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein:
the moving step is carried out by permitting the obstruction engaging element to expand.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein:
the moving step is carried out by rotating the obstruction engaging element so that the element becomes entangled with the interlocking structure.
14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:
exposing part of the obstruction engaging element before completing the withdrawing step.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein:
the exposing step is carried out before beginning the withdrawing step.