Abstract: An ice plug for defining a barrier in a pipeline section filled with water, comprises a hollow, cylindrical body enclosed at a front end and provided with guide means for sliding movement of the plug along and within the pipeline. The body has a diameter smaller than that of the pipeline to define with the latter an annular interspace enclosed at opposed axial ends of the plug. The thickness of the annular space is selected to allow free movement of the body through curves in a pipeline and to form a continuous, annular ice layer firmly engaging the inside wall of the pipeline and the outer surface of said body to thus form, together with the body, a temporary water impermeable barrier within the pipeline. A water supply system fills the interspace with process water.

Abstract: A data acquisition system having a plurality of remote data gathering devices each of which communicates according to a respective defined communications protocol. An object database memory containing data for all of the data gathering devices is provided. Protocol drivers stored in the memory may be retrieved and stacked to form a layered protocol driver in accordance with established ISO/OSI standards. A common messaging interface is interposed between adjacent protocol drivers in the stack and a common database interface is interposed between the protocol drivers and the database memory.

Abstract: A balance board having a deck and a pair of parallel spaced rails supported on the deck. An underlying roller is rotatably mounted to a carriage having a pair of spaced wheel assemblies which rollingly engage respective ones of the rails. The roller engages the underside of the deck when the wheel assemblies engage the rails, and may be tapered to allow multi-directional use of the board.

Abstract: A database accessing system for processing a request to access a database including a multiplicity of entries, each entry including at least one word, the request including a sequence of representations of possibly erroneous user inputs, the system including a similar word finder operative, for at least one interpretation of each representation, to find at least one database word which is at least similar to that interpretation, and a database entry evaluator operative, for each database word found by the similar word finder, to assign similarity values for relevant entries in the database, said values representing the degree of similarity between each database entry and the request.

Abstract: Collapsible recumbent exercise bicycle apparatus wherein the seat is pivotably coupled to the base and the seat back is pivotably coupled to the seat. The seat and seat back are therefore convertible between an upright user-supporting configuration and a folded storage configuration. Further, the base is telescopically collapsible to reduce the footprint of the apparatus for storage.

Abstract: A ball-and-socket joint has a race with bearing balls interposed between the head and the socket of the joint. The race is secured to the head. In use as a prosthetic hip joint, the formation of metallic debris is reduced or completely eliminated thus eliminating or at least reducing the occurrence of the need for corrective surgery. The hip joint is of an unconstrained type which often enables correction of an accidental dislocation of the joint without surgery.

Abstract: A device for removing dough from a piece of baked goods includes a handle and a blade having a cutting edge secured to the handle. The blade is contoured to define an open region between the blade and the handle so that dough removed from the piece of baked goods can pass through the open region between the blade and the handle.

Abstract: A valve arranged for radial fluid flow from its inlet to its outlet has a spring-loaded diaphragm covering a valve cage member having a central opening communicating with the valve inlet surrounded by a plurality of peripheral openings communicating with the valve outlet. The valve cage member is downwardly concave and a valve top member closing off the valve body has an upwardly concave surface which is substantially the inverse of the concave surface of the valve cage member. Accordingly, the diaphragm moves from a zero flow configuration against the valve cage member to a full flow configuration against the valve top member symmetrically without stretching.

Abstract: A plastic device for inserting a catheter or the like into a body, wherein the forward end of the device acts as a dilator and has an offset axial opening along one side for a relatively small needle to pass through. The main portion of the device has a lumen for holding a catheter or the like. The forward end of the lumen is terminated by a slanted guide wall. The device eliminates the need for a separate guidewire and allows the use of a small diameter needle to minimize damage to the body wall.

Abstract: An interleaved planar array antenna system providing angularly adjustable linearly polarized beams comprises an array of parallel rows of transmit dipole element pairs and an array of parallel rows of receive dipole element pairs, the two arrays being interleaved. Each of the dipole element pairs includes a first dipole element and a second dipole element adjacent and orthogonal to the first dipole element. All of the first dipole elements are parallel to each other and all of the second dipole elements are parallel to each other. All of the dipole elements are on the same surface and on another surface parallel to and spaced from the first surface there is an array of transmit feed line pairs and an array of receive feed line pairs, with the arrays being interleaved with each other. The transmit feed line pairs are proximity coupled to the transmit dipole element pairs and the receive feed line pairs are proximity coupled to the receive dipole element pairs.

Abstract: A method for analyzing a data set and determining the independent input variables and the values of those variables which are most associated with a specific outcome. Independent and dependent variables may be either numeric (continuous) or categoric (discrete); numeric variables need not be of a specific distribution type. First, each individual independent variable is ranked based on a score. Scoring is done by first determining the number of records in the data set having each of four possible conditions--independent variable in or out of range in combination with dependent variable in or out of range. These values are put into an equation. Iterative processes are used until a high score is found. Subsequently, combinations of variables and values of independent variables are evaluated using the score to determine the combinations most likely to be associated with a specific outcome or range of values of the dependent variable.

Abstract: Connections between batteries and impedance measuring circuitry in a system for on-line measurement of battery cell impedance is effected by twisted wire triplets.

Abstract: An AC to DC converter employing a resonant circuit and an auxiliary controllable switch such that the main controllable switch is turned off at zero current. A coupled saturable inductor is connected to the resonant circuit and the associated switching diode so that the turnoff stress of the switching diode is greatly reduced.

Abstract: An interleaved planar array antenna system providing opposite circular polarizations comprises an array of parallel rows of parallel spaced transmit dipole radiating elements and an array of parallel rows of parallel spaced receive dipole radiating elements. Both sets of dipole elements are on the same surface, with the receive dipole elements being oriented orthogonal to the transmit dipole elements and the rows of transmit and receive elements being interleaved. On another surface parallel to and spaced from the first surface, there is at least one transmit feed line which is proximity coupled to the transmit dipole elements and at least one receive feed line which is proximity coupled to the receive dipole elements. Polarizing means are spaced from and overly the transmit and receive dipole elements for transforming orthogonally oriented linearly polarized transmit and receive beams into oppositely circularly polarized transmit and receive beams.

Abstract: Support structure for securing a display pole to a conventional supermarket shelving unit. The structure includes a bracket adapted to be mounted to the front of a pre-existing shelf by fingers which are inserted through apertures in the top surface of the shelf. The other end of the bracket includes a jacket member for holding the display pole. A pair of such brackets are utilized for holding the display pole, with the brackets in vertical alignment and each being mounted to a respective one of a pair of vertically spaced shelves.