Abstract: Heat conduction along and through the line of a nonambient temperature liquid system is deterred by a thermal barrier having insulative stop and seat components interengaged for thermally isolating the liquid on one side of the barrier from the liquid on the other side of the barrier when the liquid within the line is stagnant. The barrier automatically opens to permit liquid flow through the line and closes to thermally isolate the liquid when the flow is interrupted, i.e. the liquid flow within the line is substantially unimpeded by the thermal barrier. For an application in which the line is subjected to low temperature which could freeze trapped liquid, such as in the outlet line of a water heater located in an uninsulated space, a small bypass passage is provided which is open when the barrier stop is closed so that a limited amount of heat is conducted past the barrier to deter freezing of the water.

Abstract: A sheet interfitting section puzzle includes incongruent pieces with complementary indicia which are physically separated by the puzzle piece internal edges and complementally abuttable internal edges which may be arranged in only one combination with all internal edges in complementary abutting relationship. When so arranged the complementary indicia are adjacent. Internal edges may be identical and therefore pieces may fit in an incorrect location while the puzzle is being constructed, in which location indicia adjacent to complementally abutting sides would not be complementary, but all the pieces must be located in their correct locations for the puzzle to be solved.

Abstract: Lumber, which is substantially warp-free and check-free and has a reduced susceptibility to decay and insect damage, particularly red alder, beech, birch, cottonwood, maple, oak, aspen and hemlock, is produced by felling the tree, preferably when in substantially full leaf; long butting the tree trunk; sealing the butt end surface to deter decay and attack by insects, and reducing the sap content by allowing the unlimbed tree to age for a minimum of six weeks; sawing the tree into lumber; purging additional sap from the lumber by soaking it with high-pressure water sprays periodically for a minimum of three days; and drying the lumber. Mold and other deterioration is deterred in wood chips which are to be stored by soaking, pressing and washing them.

Abstract: A prone board is provided with an adjustable angle leg supporting and spreading appliance positioned to extend from a location below the crotch and between the thighs of a patient to a location below the patient's knees. The appliance is adjustable and cooperates with lateral foot supports for adaptation to progress in treatment of hip or knee extension and/or flexion. A face support relieves prolonged stress on the patient's neck or compensates for dysfunctional head support. An attachment including a leg inclined forwardly and a telescoping brace which permits adjustment of the angle of inclination of the prone board relative to the floor.

Abstract: A method of making wood shingle sidewall panels by assembling a layup including a face layer of high-grade tapered wood shingles with their longitudinal edges in abutment, each such shingle having a rabbeted longitudinal edge, an intermediate layer of veneer and a backing layer of wood shingles tapered opposite to the taper of the face wood shingles, and bonding the shingle layers to the opposite sides of the veneer, respectively. The face layer of sidewall panel shingles having rabbeted edges simulates the appearance of shingles individually applied to a wall.

Abstract: Several courses of random width, low-grade tapered wood shingles are stacked in an elongated trough with the butts of shingles of adjacent courses disposed at opposite sides of the trough to form a substantially continuous stacked shingle lay-up. A cutoff saw consecutively cuts loose packs of shingles from an end portion of the lay-up. After each pack-cutting operation, the lay-up is shifted lengthwise of the trough to a position for the saw to cut another pack from the lay-up. Each severed pack is banded about its center to form a bundle, moved lengthwise partway through a gang saw to form a set of parallel kerfs spaced apart uniformly widthwise of the bundle and extending from an end of the bundle almost up to the band and then turned end-for-end and moved lengthwise partway through the gang saw to form another set of kerfs extending from the other end of the bundle almost up to the band. The kerfs of the two sets of kerfs are in registration.

Abstract: Improvements in a doorstop mechanism include a swivel bar mounted on a doorjamb to swing between a position in the path of the door to block its opening and a position retracted out of the path of door-opening movement. The stop bar can be held in door-blocking position by engagement of a rib-and-groove latch. The stop bar can be moved into latch-engaged position by swinging of a keeper to move cooperating cylindrical or edgewise cams relatively which movement shifts the stop bar into latched position in opposition to the force of a latch-releasing spring. The improvements include strengthening the doorstop mechanism and adding members to make it more difficult to break down the door by force such as kicking it and modifications to permit parts to be reversed for use with doors which open to the right away from one (right-hand doors) and which open to the left away from one (left-hand doors).

Abstract: A heat pipe includes an elongated, heat conductive shell containing heat transfer fluid which is vaporizable and condensable, and cooling means within the shell to condense the heat transfer fluid from the vapor form to the liquid form and thereby to cool the shell to approximately the same temperature throughout its length. The cooling means can include a conduit or conduits running longitudinally inside the shell of the heat pipe and carrying a circulating coolant which can be a liquid or a gas. The substantially uniform cool surface temperature of the heat pipe adapts it for use as an efficient solar energy collector with the circulating coolant serving as a heat extracting medium. Alternatively, a row of photovoltaic cells may be mounted on the uniformly cool heat pipe shell and an elongated lens used to refract solar rays to impinge concentrated or high intensity solar energy onto the targets of such cells.

Abstract: Raw, unblanched potato strips suitable for French frying are heated principally by circulation of hot air to dry their surfaces, and simultaneously to cook the strips partially and to dehydrate the strips partially. The strips are then frozen and stored in frozen condition until they are to be finally deep fat fried ready for consumption.

Abstract: A foot-plate for a ski-binding is intended for arrangement at a distance above the surface of a ski and carries the parts of the binding to grip the sole of a ski-boot at front and rear. The foot-plate is connectable to the ski by resilient members to be oscillatory in all directions in its own plane, and also preferably perpendicularly to the surface of the ski. The resilient members may take the form of inserts or bearers, and the foot-plate is advantageously recessed and in each of the recesses there is arranged a resilient member having an aperture for a connecting screw to pass therethrough. These resilient members at the front and rear sections of the foot-plate may have different degrees of resilience.

Abstract: A method of making wood shingle sidewall panels by assembling a lay-up having one layer of high-grade tapered wood shingles with a staggered butt edge, an intermediate layer of veneer and an opposite layer of low-grade wood shingles with an even butt edge and tapered opposite to the taper of the high-grade wood shingles; bonding the layers of the veneer; severing the panel blank so formed along a line located generally centrally between its opposite edges, thereby forming two sidewall panel blanks of a width approximately one-half the length of the shingles, one panel blank having staggered shingle butts and the other panel blank having even shingle butts; and thereafter cutting the panel blanks to length.

Abstract: A solar energy collector is mounted for adjustable azimuth rotation about a vertical axis and adjustable elevation tilting about a horizontal axis for pointing toward the sun. The collector is driven for rotation about the vertical axis and for tilting about the horizontal axis by drive mechanism controlled by the angle of incidence of the sun's rays to the collector when the insolation is above a predetermined intensity. When the insolation is below such predetermined value, the drive mechanism is controlled by a stored computerized program. Control responsive to the sun's rays is effected by at least one light sensitive photoelectric cell. Preferably one pair of cells is arranged in a horiziontal axis and another pair is arranged in a plane perpendiuclar to such horizontal axis. The photoelectric cells are buried in shield tubes to shield the cells from stray light. However, the outer end of the tubes are canted to increase the field from which direct rays from the sun will activate the photoelectric cells.

Abstract: An eyepiece has an upper edge fittable into the upper portion of the eye socket to deter displacement by water force and a lower portion overlying and generally conforming to the cheekbone to absorb diving shock and to limit inward movement. A cushion seal wider than the upper edge and partially bonded to it cushions the eyepiece fit. A head strap lug projects upwardly and rearwardly from the eyepiece so that the head strap connected to it urges the eyepiece upper edge up under the upper portion of the eye socket. The transversely curved front lens is inclined forwardly and downwardly to promote forward visibility during swimming and the side lens is substantially flat to improve peripheral vision and is faired into the curved front lens.

Abstract: An artificial tooth has embedded therein a mortise lock including a housing set into the tooth and accommodating a bolt member which is slidable to protrude from the interior of the housing to engage into a recess in a keeper which is fixed firmly to the jaw bone of a patient. The mortise lock includes an elastic ring which is movable with the bolt and engages a collar in the end of the housing when the lock is in unlocked position, to prevent the bolt from being removed from the housing. The collar is detachable to enable removal of the bolt for replacement of the elastic ring.

Abstract: A two-speed motor drives a shaft carrying the horse-leading radial arms of a rotary mechanical hot-walker for cooling out horses at a slow walk or exercising horses at a trot. Speed-reducing mechanism for the motor includes two open V-belt drives connecting a constant speed ratio gearbox between the motor drive shaft and the shaft carrying the hot-walker arms. One of the open V-belt drives includes a variable pitch pulley the operation of which, in combination with the two motor speeds, enables the rotative speed of the radial horse-leading arms to be at least almost infinitely adjustable throughout the entire wide range from a slow walking speed, when the motor is operating at its low speed, through a fast trotting speed, when the motor operating at its high speed. Belt tension adjusting mechanism is provided for the other open V-belt drive for adjusting the value of the maximum torque transferable by such other open V-belt drive at any rotative speed of the hot-walker rotor.

Abstract: A plow-like trench cutter is carried by a slide movable vertically between spaced upright ways rigidly coupled to a tractor. The trench cutter has a passage for supplying a line, such as cable or pipe, generally to the bottom of the cutter so that when the tractor is moved to cut a trench, the line is laid in the trench cut. A jackscrew carrying the slide can adjust the elevation of the trench cutter relative to the tractor to alter the depth of the trench. The angle of attack of the leading edge of the trench cutter can be adjusted by turning a turnbuckle spindle that extends through a nut carried by the cutter and a nut carried by the slide. The leading edge of the trench cutter is composed of a plurality of bars reciprocable transversely of their lengths.

Abstract: A rocking member is installed in a recess in a device floating on water by a pivot shaft extending approximately parallel to the surface of the water. Such rocking member has a bottom impelling surface displaceable upward and downward by swinging of the rocking member. A plurality of water-trapping wedge-shaped fins, extending approximately parallel to the pivot shaft and spaced apart longitudinally of the device, project downward from the rocking member impelling surface.