US Fed News Service, Including US State News back issues from Monday, October 30:
Florida Inventor Develops Airway Obstruction Overcoming Medical Device
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Simon Jacob Frank of Davie, Fla., has developed a medical device used to overcome upper airway obstruction when a patient is placed in a supine position. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A medical device for overcoming upper airway ...
South Korean Inventors Develop Cylindrical Lens Array
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Dae-sik Kim, Kun-ho Cho, Sung-ha Kim and Hee-joong Lee, all from Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, have developed a cylindrical lens array for scrolling colors, projection system using same, and scrolling method. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A ...
Indiana Inventor Develops Personal Reflector
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Kenneth J. Greves of Lawrenceburg, Ind., has developed personal reflectors that are adapted for use in a vehicular environment. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus comprises a structure having first and second opposite reflective ...
Japanese Inventor Develops Control Valve
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Isao Suzuki of Tokyo has developed a proportional control valve capable of controlling a flow rate of a fluid to be at a desired level. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An actuator operated by a solenoid and a force amplifying means ...
California Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Golf Club Head
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- D. Clayton Evans of San Marcos, Calif., and Larry G. Tang of Carlsbad, Calif., have developed an ornamental design for a scoreline pattern for a golf club head, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced. The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No ....
California, Arizona Inventors Develop Integrated Circuit Programming Circuit
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Ray Zinn of Atherton, Calif., Scott Brown of San Jose and Peter Chambers of Phoenix, have developed a circuit and method for programming or controlling an integrated circuit using externally applied analog voltages. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark ...
German Inventors Develop Detent Joint
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Heinrich Lang and Stefan Centmayer, both of Ergersheim, Germany, Wolfgang Seiboth of Bad Windsheim, Germany, and Georg Hecht of Weihenzell, Germany, have developed a detent joint that interconnects first and second hinge pieces of vehicle mirrors. According to ...
Belgian, Japanese Inventors Develop Motor Generator Mounting Structure
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Hidetoshi Kusumi of Brussels, Belgium, and Noriyuki Habara of Toyota, Japan, have developed a mounting structure of motor generator for internal combustion engine. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A tensioner that controls tension of a ...
French Inventor Develops Useful Material Layer Area Increasing Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Christophe Maleville of La Terrasse, France, has developed a method for transferring a first substrate to a second substrate. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The invention relates to a method of increasing the area of a useful layer of ...
California Inventor Develops Selective Animal Feeding Apparatus
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Jennifer Anne Clarke of Santa Rosa, Calif., has developed a selective animal feeding apparatus for feeding a food of a first animal to a first animal and for restricting access to said food to a second animal. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark ...
Michigan Inventors Develop Cover Panel Edge Seal
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- J. Dean Krauss and Robert Tad Magruder, both of Rochester Hills, Mich., Tom Mack of Highland, Mich., Kenny J. Minicuci of Macomb Township, Mich., Daniel Harel of Portage, Mich., Jean Guy Cocaign of Rochester, Mich., and Weilou Gao of Troy, Mich., have developed a ...
Japanese Inventor Develops Optical Device Production Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Masashi Kitabayashi of Horigane-mura, Japan, has developed a producing method of optical device, a positioning master, an optical device and a projector. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An attitude of a measurement reference surface of a ...
Japanese Inventors Develop Image Processing Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Akitoshi Yamada, Masao Kato and Fumitaka Goto, all from Kanagawa, Japan, and Mitsuhiro Ono of Tokyo, have developed an apparatus and a method for image processing, and a storage medium. An abstract of the invention, released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark ...
New York Inventor Develops Image Forming System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Howard A. Mizes of Pittsford, N.Y., has developed systems and methods for compensating for streaks in images. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Defects in an image forming system may give rise to visible streaks, or one-dimensional defects ...
Florida Inventor Develops Digital Interference Holographic Microscope
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Myung K. Kim of Tampa, Fla., has developed a method for imaging a three-dimensional object. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A simple digital holographic apparatus and method allow reconstruction of three-dimensional objects with a very ...
Japanese Inventors Develop Image Processing Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Naoto Kinjo, Naoki Takaoka and Jun Enomoto, all from Ashigarakami-gun, Japan, have developed an image processing method. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Each crest-shape distribution region is sectioned in accordance with a value of a ...
Massachusetts Inventor Develops Digital-to-Analog Converter
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Fang Xu of Newton, Mass., has developed a method for improving the performance of an analog-to-digital converter. An abstract of the invention, released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, said: "A system and method includes: receiving an input signal; ...
New Jersey Inventors Develop Projection Display System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Karl W. Beeson of Princeton, N.J., and Scott M. Zimmerman of Baskin Ridge, N.J., have developed projection display systems that utilizes color scrolling and light emitting diodes. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A projection display ...
Taiwanese Inventor Develops Optical Projection Module
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Sea-Huang Lee of Miao-Li, Taiwan, has developed an optical projection module that includes a front optical module, a rear optical module and an adjustment member mounted between the front and rear optical modules. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark ...
West Virginia Inventor Develops Lepidoptera Habitat
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Heather Tokas of Wellsburg, W. Va., has developed a frame that supports a bundle of natural logs providing nooks, crannies or crevices attracting lepidoptera and like insects as a nesting site. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The frame ...
Japanese Inventors Develop Power Generation System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Seiji Kurokami and Nobuyoshi Takehara, both of Kyoto, Japan, and Kimitoshi Fukae and Akiharu Takabayashi, both of Nara, Japan, have developed a power generation system and a power generation apparatus. An abstract of the invention, released by the U.S. Patent ...
Japanese Inventor Develops Temperature Detection Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Norihiro Kawatoko of Kanagawa, Japan, has developed a temperature detection method and printing apparatus using the same. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Provided is a temperature detection method capable of more accurately acquiring an ...
Japanese Inventors Develop Optical Multiplexing Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Miki Onaka, Etsuko Hayashi and Hiroshi Onaka, all from Kawasaki, Japan, have developed an optical multiplexing method and an optical multiplexer, and an optical amplifier using the same. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An object of the ...
South Korean Inventors Develop Chip Scale Marker
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- You Hie Han of Daejeon, South Korea, and Chang Su Jun of Seoul, South Korea, have developed a chip scale marker and a method of calibrating marking position. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "chip scale marker ...
California Inventor Develops Metal Ion Removing Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Juzer Jangbarwala of Chino Hill, Calif., has developed a method and an apparatus for metal removal ion exchange. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention provides a method for selectively removing metal ions of interest from a ...
French Inventors Develop Optronic Passive Surveillance Device
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Michel Papuchon of Villebon, France, Philippe Antier of Le Bretonneux, France, Ludovic Perruchot of Bonnelles, France, and Alain Verdaguer of Elancourt, France, have developed an optronic passive surveillance device that is installed on an aircraft in order to detect ...
Australian Inventor Develops Micro-Electromechanical Inkjet Nozzle Fabrication Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Kia Silverbrook of Balmain, Australia, has developed a method of fabricating a micro-electromechanical inkjet nozzle on a wafer substrate. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The nozzle comprises a nozzle chamber having an aperture, an ...
California Inventors Develop Remote Control Transmission Monitoring System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Paul D. Arling of Irvine, Calif., Wayne Scott of Newport Beach, Calif., Christopher Chambers of Stanton, Calif., and Joseph Lee Haughawout of Aliso Viejo, Calif., have developed a system and a method for monitoring remote control transmissions. According to ...
Tennessee Inventor Develops Portable Welder
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Roger L. DeYoung of Franklin, Tenn., has developed an portable welder for repairing or bonding metal work pieces. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A portable welder includes a welder housing. The housing has front and rear vertical end ...
Swedish Inventors Develop Exhaust Gas Emissions Reduction Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Goran Almkvist and Ha Sandquist, both of Lerum, Sweden, and Henrik Hakansson of Stockholm, Sweden, have developed an internal combustion engine and a method of reducing hydrocarbon emissions of an internal combustion engine during cold start conditions. An ...
South Carolina, North Carolina Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Booster Pack
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Robert C. Wingerter of Greenville, S.C., and Chad James of Tryon, N.C., have developed an ornamental design for a booster pack, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced. The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D530,664 on Oct. 24. The patent ...
Florida, Arizona Inventors Develop Dovetail Meniscal Allograft Technique
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Reinhold Schmieding and Donald K. Shuler, both of Naples, Fla., and Thomas R. Carter of Paradise Valley, Ariz., have developed a meniscal allograft technique and a system using a meniscal allograft having a dovetail notch. According to the U.S. Patent & ...
Texas Inventors Develop Particles Removal Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Richard Harvey McGee and Garry Thomas Hill, both of Houston, and Yong Fu Wang of Sugarland, Texas, have developed a method of use of a high pressure solid removal system. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method for removing particles ...
Swedish Inventor Develops Die Casting Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Staffan Rengmyr of Gothenburg, Sweden, has developed a method for casting an iron alloy reinforced aluminum alloy engine block. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "method of high pressure die casting in iron alloy ...
Wisconsin Inventors Develop Feedforward Control System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Kent Allan Franklin, Aaron Dee Schilpp and Douglas N. Duehring, all from Appleton, Wis., have developed a process for providing feedforward control to control the feed rate of an elastic material. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The ...
Belgian, Canadian Inventors Develop Ultrasound Cutting Fluid Treating Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Mario Swinnen of Paal, Belgium, Eric D. Cordemans de Meulenaer of Wezembeek-Oppem, Belgium, Baudouin O. Hannecart of LeRoche-en-Ardenne, Belgium, and Edward S. Beardwood of Ontario, Canada, have developed Devices and methods for treating, preventing from growth, and ...
Florida Inventors Develop Environment Protector-Pressurized Wheel Hub
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Henry Dombrowski of Boynton Beach, Fla., and Anthony Cunningham of Tequesta, Fla., have developed a apparatus that permits the pressurization of a wheel hub to indicate hub seal integrity. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A hub cap for a ...
Pennsylvania Inventors Develop Bicycle Seat Rail
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Robin L. Pesa and Jill R. McGibbney, both of Sewickley, Pa., and Clifford M. Bugle of South Park, Pa., have developed a seat rail for a bicycle seat and a method of fabricating same. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The seat rail comprises ...
Canadian Inventor Develops Visual Parking Guide
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Kuldip Randhawa of British Columbia, Canada, has developed a visual parking guide to assist drivers in parking adjacent to a stationary object without damaging the vehicle. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "visual ...
Nevada Inventor Develops Blown Fuse Indicator Light Installation Apparatus
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Galen J. May of Reno, Nv., has developed a method and an apparatus used in combination for installing a blown fuse indicator light within a pre-existing fuse housing. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Herein provided is a method and ...
French Inventor Develops Interactive Audio-Visual System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Georges Buchner of Paris has developed an interactive audio-visual system. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The invention concerns an interactive audio-visual system between a local scene and a remote scene, comprising at least a device ...
Japanese Inventors Develop Land Partition Data Generation Apparatus
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Sen Kubota and Takashi Onoyama, both of Tokyo, have developed a land partition data generating method and an apparatus. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method and apparatus generates data concerning a partition of land such as farmland ...
U.S., Finnish Inventors Develop Mobile Eletronic-Services Taxonomy
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Roberto Sanchez of Vallejo, Calif., Gerald Winsor of San Jose, Calif., Carollyn Carson of Bayonne, N.J., Christopher Peltz of Windsor, Colo., and Ian Rhodes of Espoo, Finland, have developed a taxonomy that is accessible by a mobile access device for describing mobile ...
German Inventors Develop Metal Coating Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Frank Werfel of Leipzig, Germany, Uta Flogel-Delor of Losswig, Germany, Rolf Rothfeld of Mockrehna, Germany, and Dieter Wippich of Beilrode, Germany, have developed a method for metal coating the surface of high temperature superconductors with a copper-oxygen base ...
California Inventor Develops Shearing Tool
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Donald J. Brockhage of Milpitas, Calif., has developed an improved method and an apparatus for shearing metal and other sheet materials used to manufacture parts and systems. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A shearing tool has a fulcrum ...
Australian Inventors Develop Printhead Supporting Shell
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Kia Silverbrook of Balmain, Australia, has developed a printhead supporting shell. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A printhead supporting shell is provided for a pagewidth printhead assembly. The shell comprises a longitudinal laminated ...
Ohio Inventors Develop Guide Mechanism for Annular Transponder Unit
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Gary Edwin Tubb of Copley, Ohio, William Allen Rex of Doylestown, Ohio, Douglas Raymond Weaver of Uniontown, Ohio, and Joseph Carmine Lettieri of Stow, Ohio, have developed a guide mechanism and a method for axially directing an annular transponder ...
Connecticut Inventors Develops Carrying Strap
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Michael Aiudi of South Glastonbury, Conn., has developed a strap for carrying a load from a person's shoulder. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "strap for carrying a load from a person's shoulder, comprising a ...
CARSON HOT SHOTS IN CARSON NATIONAL FOREST
Oct 30, 2006 ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service unit - Carson National Forest - issued the following press release: Twenty-one young men known as the Carson Hot Shots just completed their 2006 fire season tour. The crew led by Superintendent, Paul Delmerico and Assistant ...
German Inventor Develops Paring Apparatus
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Bernd Merle of Alsfeld, Germany, has developed an apparatus for paring tubular articles, especially plastic tubes. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus for paring tubular articles, especially for plastic tubes, has at least one ...
Taiwanese Inventors Develop Porous Materials Impurities Removing Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Kon-Tsu Kin, Chiou-Mei Chen, Pei-Lin Chang and Hsiao-Fen Cheng, all from Hsinchu, Taiwan, have developed a method for removing impurities from porous materials. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention discloses a method for ...
German Inventor Develops Seat Bolster Adjustment Apparatus
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Richard Frank of Eichingen, Germany, has developed a seat bolster adjustment apparatus and method. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An active bolster adjustment apparatus for use in vehicle seats includes a mounting plate connected with ...
California Inventors Develop Optoelectronic Device
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Christopher M.Fetzer of Valencia, Calif., James H. Ermer of Burbank, Calif., Richard R. King of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Peter C. Cotler of Canyon Country, Calif., have developed an isoelectronic surfactant that induced sublattice disordering in optoelectronic ...
Massachusetts Inventors Develop Logarithmic Analog-To-Digital Converter System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Ji-Jon Sit of Cambridge, Mass., and Rahul Sarpeshkar of Arlington, Mass., have developed a micropower logarithmic analog to digital conversion system and a method with offset and temperature compensation. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: ...
Japanese Inventors Develop Rimless Eyeglasses
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Jitsuko Yamaguchi and Katsushi Yamaguchi, both of Fukui, Japan, have developed rimless eyeglasses whose lenses are directly connected to each other and to the temples without rims, and to the hinge structure for the temples. According to the U.S. Patent & ...
Washington, Illinois Inventors Develop Image Identification System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Nebojsa Jojic of Redmond, Wash., and Nemanja Petrovic of Urbana, Ill., have developed a system and a method for adaptive video fast forward that uses scene generative models. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Computationally efficient ...
Indiana Inventors Develop Vehicle Safety System
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Giuliano Cacucci of Carmel, Ind., Steve Johnson of Fishers, Ind., and Brian Hood of Zionsville, Ind., have developed a vehicle safety system for impeding an occupant's egress from a vehicle. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A barrier is ...
California Inventors Develop Preferred Roaming List Compression Apparatus
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Roy Franklin Quick Jr., Ramin Rezaiifar, Paul E. Bender and Rotem Cooper, all from San Diego, and Don Nielsen Andrus of Encinitas, Calif., have developed techniques for efficient storage and retrieval of preferred roaming lists (PRL). According to the U.S ....
Taiwanese Inventor Develops Tool Cabinet
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Jung-Feng Liu of Taichung Hsien, Taiwan, has developed a cabinet that has a positioning device which includes at least one locating device. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Each locating device has a fastener, a fixture group, two slots ...
Taiwanese Inventor Develops Liquid Soap Dispenser
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Yi-Chen Chen of Taoyuan County, Taiwan, has developed a liquid soap dispenser with a stationary base and a main body with a cover. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A fastener is on the bottom of the stationary base, a concave is on top of ...
Massachusetts Inventors Develop Data Collection Search Results Discarding Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Jane Wen Chang and Michael Kyle McCandless, both of Cambridge, Mass., and Raymond Lau of Arlington, Mass., have developed a computer-implemented method of discarding results of a search of a collection of data. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark ...
Arizona Inventor Develops Wick Trimmer
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Curt D. Waisath of Mesa, Ariz., has developed a wick trimmer apparatus and more particularly, a wick trimmer with a measuring foot that facilitates the effective cutting of a wick to an appropriate length. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: ...
Ohio Inventor Develops Ornamental Design for Foot Lifter
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Charles M. Shaffer of Centerville, Ohio, has developed an ornamental design for a foot lifter having a flexible band, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced. The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. D530,651 on Oct. 24. The original ...
Chinese Inventors Develop Video Editing Method
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Xian-Sheng Hua, Lie Lu, Yu-Fei Ma, Mingjing Li and Hong-Jiang Zhang, all from Beijing, have developed systems and methods to automatically edit a video to generate a video summary. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "In one aspect, sub-shots ...
California Inventor Develops Friction Welded Structural Assembly
Oct 30, 2006 ... ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 30 -- Max R. Runyan of Huntington Beach, Calif., has developed a friction welded structural assembly and preform and a method for the same. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Expanded structural assemblies and preforms and methods therefor are ...