Abstract: A ladder safety apparatus for use with a straight ladder having vertical side rails, and having horizontally aligned openings in the side rails, is disclosed. An example is a hollow-rung metal or aluminum ladder. The safety apparatus includes a flexible metal cable of a length somewhat greater than the rail-to-rail dimension of the ladder, the cable extending through the openings in the side rails. An elongated metal bolt or tube is non-removably attached to each end of the metal cable, to thereby form a linear extension of the metal cable. First and second building attachment means are provided, each such means having a metallic cable-attachment portion with an opening therein whereby the building attachment means is slidably and loosely mounted on the bolt or tube. An adjustment nut or collet is mounted on the bolt or tube, and in a position to adjustably trap the cable-attachment portion on an end of the metal cable. The metal cable includes a protective plastic covering.

Abstract: A three wheel vehicle is described having two forward wheels that are driven and steerable. The two forward wheels and the single rear wheel are supported by a single-unit platform member molded from an engineering plastic. The platform member includes a plurality of pipe-like attachment clip/handles strategically located both within the bounds of the platform and about the periphery of the platform. The basic vehicle is intended for use by a standing individual. A plurality of accessories are selectively attachable to the platform member by use of the platform clip/handles. They facilitate use of the vehicle by both a seated and a standing individual, and protect the individual from the environment. Attachments that facilitate cargo carrying and protection of the individual are also described. The vehicle is foldable for storage.

Abstract: A stopper seals the opening left in the lid of a metal can upon operation of an integral metal tab that is attached to the top surface of the lid. The stopper comprises a resilient plug having a thickness greater than the thickness of the lid.

Abstract: An industrial pallet is constructed and arranged to support a vertical stack of scaffold end frames on the pallet's rectangular, horizontal support platform. Upwardly extending channel-iron members are rigidly secured adjacent the back edge and the two side edges of the platform. These channel-iron members define an open-front cavity for receiving the end frames as they are manually inserted onto the platform from the front edge thereof. Horizontal hand-rail/brace members extend between the side disposed channel-iron members, to form both hand rails and a platform for supporting tube-shaped scaffold cross members that are used with the scaffold end frames when constructing a scaffold. Two vertically extending, removable, locking rods fit into sockets carried by the platform. When these locking rods are manually inserted into the platform sockets, the rods penetrate interior spaces of the stacked scaffold end frames.

Abstract: Optical elements are combined into modules capable of performing logic functions in response to light pulses which are received from a source as clock pulses or data pulses. The module is effectively an all optical switching network. An optical delay line provides optical memory. The pulses that are produced at the delay line output are restored by selective reentry of light pulses from a continuously operable source so that the pulse information is storable indefinitely. The module is useful for a variety of computer and computer related design functions.

Abstract: A large number of potential alphanumeric patterns are ordered in a predetermined sequence which is then used to construct a transition graph composed of machine states along one coordinate and alphanumeric symbols along the other. The intersections on that graph establish either the next machine state on the graph or the action the system should provide. Pattern recognition is thus possible against strings of alphanumeric characters received thereafter by responding to the characters to determine a path of state transitions through the graph until an appropriate action indicator is reached. Machines including the invention are dynamically configurable and permit a variety of system management options to the user. The invention has particular utility for flexible configuring of the dialing plan and internal management of PBX type of telephone switching devices regardless of the pattern discipline associated with its external connections.

Abstract: Initial start up conditions for an oscillator having an inductor and capacitor coupled as a frequency determining resonant circuit are established by current generators. The current levels correlate to the steady state operating levels of the oscillator. Switching elements are actuated so as to gate the oscillator into immediate steady state operation without start up transient distortion by reconfiguring the relationship of the current sources to the oscillator elements.

Abstract: A semiconductor, injection mode light emitting device includes a body of a semiconductor material having a quantum mode region formed of alternating layers of gallium nitride and either indium nitride or aluminum nitride. A region of N-type gallium nitride is on one side of the quantum well region and is adapted to inject electrons into the quantum mode region. A region of P-type gallium phosphide is on the other side of the quantum well region and is adapted to inject holes into the quantum mode region. A barrier region of insulating gallium nitride is between the P-type region and the quantum well region and serves to block the flow of electrons from the quantum well region into the P-type region. Conductive contacts are provided on the N-type region and the P-type region.

Abstract: Large, flat objects such as manhole covers, storm drain grates and the like, are lifted and maneuvered. A tool includes a gripper assembly which receives the object at or near an edge and establishes control by an arrangement of at least one concentrated contact area or pressure point on one surface of the object and a pair of such concentrated contact areas or pressure points on the other surface. A long lever handle allows pivoting to raise the object; rollers on the tool accommodate maneuvering afterwards. Avoidance of runaway rolling and maintenance of positive movement control is possible by a stub or pin which is attachable is desired to engage the ground, street or the like, after the object is lifted.

Abstract: Two carriages are roller mounted to allow relative motion between them while maintaining precise relative positioning. Rollers engage precision ground spaced surfaces of a C-shaped hangar configuration, and wear compensation is provided by a spring bias arrangement maintaining conformity between the rollers and guide grooves in the underside of the rails.

Abstract: A machine uses electrophotography to produce panels of images for transfer to a continuous web of image receiving media. The images are transferred to the media under control of signals synchronized with media movement under a transfer structure which has a width sufficient to accommodate image transfer immediately prior to stopping of the media as well as immediately after restart of the media movement. The media is stopped with boundaries between sheets within the transfer zone.

Abstract: Superconducting material improves the operating efficiency and reduces the operating power demand for a disk drive suitable for interchanging data with a magnetic or optic media. The arm containing the head is moved along a path by a balanced superconductor to magnetic field interface such as for radial positioning relative to a circular media and is maintained in constant spatial relation with respect to the media by advantageous application of superconductive layers and magnetic field sources. The superconductor environment also permits efficient bearing support for the media as well as accommodating superconductor motors for driving the media and the use of various circuit elements associated with the drive electronics.

Abstract: A lifting tool for heavy, flat, round covers, such as manhole covers, is disclosed. The covers include two pairs of diametrically opposed edge notches. The lifting tool comprises an upright column, the lower end of which terminates in a first pair of prongs or teeth that are adapted to cooperate with one of the notch pairs. A swing arm is pivotally connected to an intermediate portion of the tool's upright column. The swing arm includes one or more sets of teeth to facilitate lifting of covers having different diameters. The swing arm teeth are adapted to cooperate with the second pair of cover notches, to thereby facilitate lifting of the cover out of its casing by manual rotation of the upright column about the first pair of teeth. The upright column includes wheels that are located above the first set of teeth. These wheels are located so that they will not engage the ground until the cover has been lifted out of its casing, thus facilitating movement of a lifted cover.

Abstract: Data processing elements such as microcode count the number of cut sheets fed from a supply bin and also monitor the amount of bin travel. This yields data correlated to actual sheet thickness and weights useful for a variety of applications. For instance, the detected sheet data makes it is possible to logically optimize control of machine operating elements which are sensitive to supply sheet quality parameters.

Abstract: A communication aid that is useful to individuals who have lost the ability to communicate with other individuals by talking and/or writing. The communication aid includes a generally flat plate or panel which carries thereon a plurality of short message portions, such as words or phrases in human readable form. A plurality of manually placeable tokens are provided. Each token carries a sequence indicator, such as a number or letter, thereon. The handicapped individual selectively places a number of these tokens on the plate in a sequence, so as to communicate a message logically readable by individuals who observe the plate. This complete message is composed by reading the short message portions in the sequential order of the numbers or letters that are carried by the tokens, to thereby form the long message.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for continuously updating a display of the coordinates of a light pen as it moves across a display screen involves executing a single iteration of an approximation calculation every refresh cycle of the display. The absolute screen coordinates are updated by the light pen tracking system and converted to application parameters written by the host computer into the display buffer work space. The orthogonal displacements, dx and dy, from a fixed reference point are determined. The distance and direction values from the reference point are converted to character form and inserted in the display buffer.

Abstract: The quality of toner fusing in an electrophotographic or xerographic copier or printer is improved by modifying the reference voltage employed, in conjunction with the fuser hot roll temperature sensing, with a factor correlated to the temperature sensed in the environment of the fuser assembly. In a typical embodiment, the environment temperature is used to develop the reference voltage applied for comparison with the signal from a direct hot roll temperature thermistor. Thus, the temperature set point toward which the hot roll is driven varies as a function of the environment temperature for the fuser assembly.

Abstract: The cutting wheel (40) is rotatably guided in a cutting carrier (50), and under the force of a spring acting axially against the cutting rail (50) so that the cutting wheel (40) is pivotable out of a neutral starting position plane parallel to the cutting rail (50), by an angle (.alpha..sub.max) corresponding to the maximum admissible cutting angle between cutting wheel (40) and cutting rail (50). Depending on the force (F.sub.F) of a spring (46), the cutting resistance (F.sub.W), and the frictional force between cutting wheel (40) and cutting rail (50), the cutting wheel (40) adjusts itself automatically to the respective cutting angle (.alpha..sub.s). The pivoting range for the cutting wheel (40) extends in both directions, so that the cutting device acts in both directions of movement of the cutting carrier (26).

Abstract: The invention relates to an opto-electronic scanning apparatus with a document support on a common frame, and a scanning head scanning a document in two different directions, which is characterized in that on the frame a first carrier (4; 27) is mounted that can be driven by a first driving means (5; 18) in the first direction, that on the first carrier (4; 27) a second carrier (12) is mounted which carries a scanning head (16, 17) operating in the second scanning direction only, that the scanning head (16, 17) on the second carrier (12) is linearly movable in the second scanning direction only, and that for each direction of movement a separate driving means is provided.

Abstract: A closed-loop photoconductor belt capable of transmitting light from its inner surface to a photoconductive layer is imaged on the internal surface after charging of the photoconductive layer. A developer transfers toner to the image area on the external surface of the belt, while scavenging residual toner from the belt external surface. The image representing toner is transferred from the external belt surface to a copy medium at a transfer station. A back-lighting erase lamp and biased AC pretransfer corona improve transfer efficiency and suppress background transfer during the transfer operation, respectively.