Poultry Harness Diaper

United States Patent and Trademark Office
Publication number US20120037094 A1
Application number US 13/207,708
Publication date Feb 16, 2012

Tobi Kosanke

Crazy K Farm Pet And Poultry Products, LLC
28384 Mellman Road
Hempstead, Texas 77445

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Birds, such as chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, turkeys and others, like many other animals, drop their bodily waste onto the ground beneath them. This waste is messy, sometimes has a foul odor, and contains bacteria. When a large number of birds are in a confined area and, especially, when birds are in an area that is shared by humans, dropping waste onto the ground is repugnant.

[0005] Several attempts have been made to attach a diaper-like structure to a bird. However, the prior-art attempts at bird diapers have failed to consider and accommodate a bird's natural desire to rest against a perch while perching or to lie with their stomachs touching the ground. If a bird were to do such activities with currently-known diaper devices, the bird would compress the captured waste against the bird's body.

[0006] In addition, many people enjoy birds as pets. These bird owners desire to not only have the bird's company at home, but in other locations as well. To help achieve these two goals, there exists several known leash devices that allow a pet owner to move about while keeping the bird tethered to them. These devices share many similarities with well-known dog leashes. However, there are no known devices that are comfortable to the bird.

[0007] Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, disclosed is a diaper assembly for use on a bird. The assembly includes an upper-body portion having at least one first part of at least one couple assembly attached thereto. At least one shoulder strap has a first end coupled to the upper-body portion and a second end opposite the first end. The assembly further includes a waste receiver having a waste-catching pouch at least partially defined by: a front-facing portion coupled to the second end of the at least one shoulder strap; and a rear-facing portion having at least one second part of the at least one couple assembly. Each second part of the at least one couple assembly is operable to releasably secure at least the rear-facing portion of the waste receiver to the upper-body portion.

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20120037094.PGNR.

Shape of a Ponytail and the Statistical Physics of Hair Fiber Bundles

Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 078101
volume 108, issue 7, pages 078101
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.078101
Published 13 February 2012

Raymond E. Goldstein [1], Patrick B. Warren [2], and Robin C. Ball [3]

[1] Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom
[2] Unilever R&D Port Sunlight, Quarry Road East, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 3JW, United Kingdom
[3] Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom

Abstract

A general continuum theory for the distribution of hairs in a bundle is developed, treating individual fibers as elastic filaments with random intrinsic curvatures. Applying this formalism to the iconic problem of the ponytail, the combined effects of bending elasticity, gravity, and orientational disorder are recast as a differential equation for the envelope of the bundle, in which the compressibility enters through an “equation of state.” From this, we identify the balance of forces in various regions of the ponytail, extract a remarkably simple equation of state from laboratory measurements of human ponytails, and relate the pressure to the measured random curvatures of individual hairs.

http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.078101

Up and beyond: Building a mountain in the Netherlands

In M.A.A. Boon (Ed.)
Conference Paper:
Proceedings of the 84th European Study Group Mathematics with Industry (SWI 2012)
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
January 30-February 3, 2012
pp. 104-125

Paulo J. De Andrade Serra (Eindhoven University of Technology), Tasnim Fatima (Eindhoven University of Technology), Andrea Fernandez (University of Bath), Tim Hulshof (Eindhoven University of Technology), Tagi Khaniyev (Middle East Technical University), Patrick J.P. van Meurs (Eindhoven University of Technology), Jan-Jaap Oosterwijk (Eindhoven University of Technology), Stefanie Postma (Leiden University), Vivi Rottschäfer (Leiden University), Lotte Sewalt (Leiden University), Frits Veerman (Leiden University)

Abstract

We discuss the idea of building a 2 km high mountain in the Netherlands. In this paper, we give suggestions on three important areas for the completion of this project. Issues like location, structure and sustainability are investigated and discussed in detail.

Keywords

building a mountain, high structure, the Netherlands

Introduction

The Netherlands does not have any tall mountains. Indeed, its name even derives from the fact that it is essentially flat. According to Thijs Zonneveld, a journalist and former professional cyclist, this is a serious shortcoming of his country. As a possible remedy, he proposed building a 2 kilometer high mountain in the Netherlands. The response was immense. Immediately, there was a lot of excitement at the prospect of building a mountain, but also a fair amount of skepticism about whether it can actually be done (see [11]). In this report we aim to address some of the obstacles and opportunities that may arise in the construction of such a mountain.

The idea of building a massive structure is not new. In the past, numerous plans have been proposed for extremely tall buildings and structures. However, what all these plans have in common is that they never left the drawing board.

The Dutch, however, are renowned for their large-scale engineering works such as the dikes, polders, and the Delta Works. Still, it is not hard to see that building a mountain would dwarf these accomplishments by comparison. Consider that currently, at a height of 828 meters, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world – truly a marvel of modern engineering. Imagine then the extremely special care and consideration, the vast amount of work and the incredible ingenuity that is required to achieve a structure that is more than double that height. After Thijs Zonneveld proposed building a mountain, a group of companies joined forces in the organization ‘Die Berg komt er!’

[...]

http://www.tue.nl/publicatie/ep/p/d/ep-uid/282446/

http://repository.tue.nl/752008

http://purl.tue.nl/935863028769923.pdf

It was as big as my head, I swear!: Biased spider size estimation in spider phobia

Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Volume 26, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 20–24
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.08.009

Michael W. Vasey, Michael R. Vilensky, Jacqueline H. Heath, Casaundra N. Harbaugh, Adam G. Buffington, Russell H. Fazio

Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1222

Abstract

The current study tested the association between fear and perception in spider phobic individuals (n = 57) within the context of a treatment outcome study. Participants completed 5 post-treatment Behavioral Approach Tasks (BATs) in which they encountered a live spider and were asked to provide spider size estimates. Consistent with predictions, results indicated that high levels of fear were associated with magnified perception of phobic stimuli. Specifically, we found a significant positive correlation between size estimates and self-reported fear while encountering spiders. Together with previous findings, these results further support the notion that fear is involved in the encoding and processing of perceptual information.

Highlights

► Test of association between fear and perception in spider phobics.
► Phobics encountered 5 spiders, reported fear, and estimated size of spiders.
► Significant correlation between size estimates and self-reported fear.
► High levels of fear associated with magnified perception of spiders.

Keywords

Phobias; Cognitive bias; Perceptual distortion

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618511001447