Abstract: A mixer system for aggressive (toxic, hazardous, corrosive, etc.) materials which are mixed (agitated, suspended, circulated, etc.) in a tank with an impeller connected to a drive shaft has the impeller and its shaft mounted in an assembly which extends through an opening into the tank and closes that opening. The assembly has a cylindrical hub with a passageway through which the shaft extends out of an open end of the hub. Bearings which are made of materials which are resistant to the aggressive material in the tank are mounted in the hub and journal and support the shaft. There are no dynamic seals which close the confinement region so that the aggressive materials can be present therein.

Abstract: A dual reflection unpolarizing monofacet (DRUM) scanner or beam deflector is made up of two essentially identical 45.degree. right angle prism elements with their hypotenuse faces together to form a body which may be rectangular or cylindrical and may be contained in a housing which provides for aerodynamic stability when the scanner rotates at high speed. The hypotenuse faces have a partially reflective surface on which an incident beam, collinear with the rotational axis, is incident. This beam is transmitted and reflected to provide dual beams, one of which is absorbed by light absorbing material, preferably a coating, on a surface of the body and the transmitted beam is retroreflected by a mirror on another surface of the body, back to the partially reflective surface. An output beam is provided by the retroreflected beam.

Abstract: A broadband radio receiver monitors transmissions over a broadband of frequencies, and especially over the aircraft band, between aircraft and control towers or between the cockpit and ground stations at an airport. The radio utilizes an earphone having a lead which provides an antenna. The lead is AC coupled to an amplifier having band-pass filters connected to the input and to output thereof to provide selectivity while passing the entire band. An AM detector is connected to the output filter and produces an audio signal which is coupled, via an RF blocking inductor, to the earphone by way of the earphone lead. A miniaturized self-contained radio is therefore provided which does not utilize a local oscillator or other radiating signal generator and may be used on board or nearby aircraft without violating regulations for the use of electronic equipment.

Abstract: A web feed device, particularly a tractor for feeding perforated paper, is provided with the capability of automatically cutting a margin along the edge of the paper. Where this margin is defined by side perforations, the apparatus is operative to burst the perforations automatically. The tractor has a lid which is spring biased in a closed position spaced from a surface of the frame of the tractor over which the paper is driven, as by a belt having pins which are received in feed perforations along the margin between the side perforations and the edge where the belt is entrained around a sprocket which drives the belt. The mechanism has a lower cutting disk, driven with the sprocket and presenting a cutting edge along an outside surface.

Abstract: A diffractive/refractive hybrid lens for use in an optical data storage system as an objective is provided by a convex-plano singlet having a refractive element defined by plano-convex surfaces and a diffractive element defined by a Fresnel zone-like pattern on the plano surface which together provide the total power of the lens. The refractive lens is made of a high index, high dispersion glass so that the curvature and thickness of the refractive lens is minimized while providing a large numerical aperture (at least 0.45) at the expense of increased longitudinal chromatic aberration, which are compensated by the diffractive element and without the need for one or more additional curved surfaces as in low index biaspheric glass objective lenses for chromatic and mono-chromatic aberration reduction, which increases the thickness and curvatures of the lens.

Abstract: Self sensing actuator system using a piezoelectric actuator device allows the device to perform both as an actuator and sensor. The sensor functions can be either measurements of stress or measurements of strain. The actuator can be used as a force generator or positioning device, both in open and closed loop configurations, and is useful for purposes ranging from dynamic damping to shape control (i.e., shaping or controlling deformation of a body).

Abstract: A sensor is located in a bed underlying water. A downward array of sensors may be buried in the bed during normal flow conditions so as to be in a disabled mode. The sensor has an oscillatable arm (21) having a first end portion (22) for supporting the arm, and a second end portion (23) housing a sensor cell (25) e.g. an omni-directional mercury switch. The alarm signal may be indicative of risk of collapse of a hydraulic structure, e.g. the foundation of a bridge pier.

Abstract: A link assembly for an endless conveyor belt includes a pair of side links and a center link interconnected together by way of a spring-biasing mechanism such that the conveyor belt provides its own tension without auxiliary tensioning apparatus.

Abstract: In order to extend the life of mixing impellers which circulate materials, and particularly which suspend solids, in the form of particles which erode the blades of the impellers and place a practical limit on impeller speed and/or angle of attack due to increased erosion at high flow velocity (erosion being a function of the cube of the velocity), the blades are constructed from blades into an airfoil configuration which does not limit the thickness of the plates and thereby allows the use of thick plates having extended life. An erosion resistant layer is located at least over the leading edge region of the blade and the shape of the blade reduces velocity of flow over the leading edge; the camber of the blade being maximized midway between the leading and trailing edge. The suction surface of the blade in the region subject to erosion is continuous thereby avoiding discontinuities which form vortices which enhance erosion.

Abstract: A pyrolytic converter utilizing a rotatable drum surrounded by an outer drum support structure and disposed in an oven chamber pyrolyzes materials including plastic waste, tires, materials from automobile shredding operations, containers and trays of plastic material, rubber, leather, garbage, sewage sludge, coal, oil shale, broken asphalt and the like. The gaseous products of pyrolyzation are collected and condensed in a series of three tanks; the later two of which are water filled and the intermediate one of which has a chamber in which expanding steam creates turbulence and provides an air lift which forms water into a spray for cooling incoming gases while simultaneously scrubbing the gases. The gases are condensed into oils of successively higher volatility in the first, second and third tanks.

Abstract: A mailing machine includes a mail transport device for vertically moving individual pieces of mail from a mail bundle to an apparatus for weighing such pieces of mail and to then move same to a further station where each piece of mail is positioned horizontally by a plurality of rotating members while a bar code is printed thereon, if desired. After such positioning, the piece of mail is transported in one of two directions dependent upon previously selected criteria pertinent to the piece of mail. One direction moves the mail piece to a bulk mailing apparatus disposed adjacent the mailing machine while moving the mail piece in the other direction delivers it to an apparatus coupled to the mailing machine for sorting and storing each piece of mail, again dependent upon information pertinent to the particular piece of mail.

Abstract: Electrical energy is transferred or switched by selectively holding off the coupling of a magnetic field to a secondary inductive element (a coil) through a path which contains a high temperature superconductive element (HTS) which is capable of holding off the field when in its superconductive state notwithstanding that it is a high energy magnetic field. The HTS operates to hold off the magnetic field in accordance with the flux exclusion effect. When the HTS element is driven normal by heating with a laser pulse, the flux passes through the element and couples the field to the secondary, which may be connected to a load. A primary coil of superconducting material around the secondary coil can provide superconducting magnetic energy storage. The primary field is held off by HTS elements in the flux path to opposite ends of the secondary coil. These elements may be driven normal by laser pulses to transfer the stored magnetic energy to a load.

Abstract: An improved protective storage cap for a rod-shaped device or instrument, particularly a fountain pen, wherein the female threads for securing the device within the cap are disposed within an axially and rotationally moveable ring. The ring is held stationary in the cap by the axial thrust of a compression spring while the male threads of the device are being rotationally engaged with or disengaged from the female threads of the cap. The cap cannot be overtightened and thereby damaged because further rotation of the device after full engagement of the threads serves only to overcome the restraining thrust of the spring and the moveable ring simply rotates in its cap with the device. The axial freedom of the ring and spring also permit the device to enter the cap to a depth sufficient to form a snap seal between the working end of the device and a chamber recessed within the cap, whereby the tool of the device, for example the writing nib of a fountain pen, sealingly is isolated from the outside environment.

Abstract: An analog synapse circuit for an artificial neural network requiring less circuitry and interconnections than prior synapses, while affording better weight programming means uses two complementary floating-gate MOSFETs with tunneling injection in an inverter configuration, with each MOSFET storing a weight value. This weight value is set by storing a charge injected by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, or other tunneling means, into the floating-gate, which shifts the threshold voltage of the device. A programming line applies a current pulse to the MOSFET floating gate to write or erase this stored charge, thereby adjusting the weight of the MOSFET. The two MOSFETs are connected with the gate electrodes connected together and the drain electrodes connected together to provide a common gate and common drain between the two MOSFETs. An input line is connected to the common gate, and an output line is connected to the common drain. The source electrodes of each MOSFET are connected to reference voltages.

Abstract: A system for reducing post-cardiopulmonary bypass encephalopathy due to microembolization of the brain of a patient with gaseous microbubbles (less than 40 microns in diameter) occurring during open-heart surgery using a cardiopulmonary bypass machine by passing a stream of blood from the patient through an ultrasonic traveling wave which propagates across the stream without reflection and sweeps the blood clean of the microbubbles without inducing blood cell trauma. The blood passes through a chamber between an input port and a filtrate exit port. An ultrasonic beam is projected so that a pressure maximum of the main lobe of the beam is centered at the filtrate exit port. The microbubbles are carried by the traveling wave to a waste exit port in the chamber downstream of the input port.

Abstract: A thermotropic chiral nematic liquid crystalline copolymer composition comprises ##STR1## wherein --NEM-- and --NEM'-- are each independently nematogenic units of formula ##STR2## wherein R is H or CH.sub.3, --Q-- is an alkylene radical having 1 to about 8 carbon atoms,--X-- is --O--, --S--, or --CH.sub.2 --, --Y-- is ##STR3## --Z is --CN, --NO.sub.2 or --N.dbd.C.dbd.S, q and r are each independently 0 or 1;wherein --CHI-- is a chiral unit of formula ##STR4## wherein R is H or CH.sub.3, --Q'-- is an alkylene radical having 1 to about 8 carbon atoms,--X'-- is --O--, --S--, or --CH.sub.2 --,--Z' is an alkoxy, aralkoxy, alkylamino, or aralkylamino radical having 4 to about 12 carbon atoms and containing at least one asymmetric carbon atom,q' and r' are each independently 0 or 1;and wherein x is the mole fraction of chiral units and (y+y') is the total mole fraction of nematogenic units in said copolymer composition, and the ratio of x to (y+y') is from about 1:50 to 1:1.

Abstract: In order to remove a lesion constricting a vascular channel, such as arteries (1), a cutter (10) of oblong, and preferably ellipsoidal shape is provided by a plurality of flexible segments (15). The segments have cutting elements (20) in the form of cusps and mounds (25) distributed over their outwardly facing surfaces. The cutter is shortened axially between its distal (D) and proximal ends to radially expand it and present the cutting elements and mounds to the lesion. The mounds help to smoothen the inside of the vascular channel following cutting of the lesion material by the cutting elements. Reaming (reciprocal movement of the cutter) along the axis (11) of the channel or rotation of the cutter may be effected from a control unit (100) via a drive shaft 40 which encases a coaxial fluid/suction supply via pipes (60, 70) to the vicinity of the cutter. A guidewire (30), which may be in a sleeve (90) is also used for axial retraction of the segments to expand the cutter.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for making glass by the sol-gel process. A mixture of silicon alkoxide, at least two other metal alkoxides, and alcohol in a solution sufficiently acidic to hydrolyze partially the silicon alkoxide is formed. Water is then added under agitation to convert the metal alkoxides to a network of corresponding metal oxides suitable for gelation. The mixture containing the network of metal oxides is then molded for a sufficient time to form a gel. Substantially only oxides of one of the at least two other metals is then removed from the gel, which is then fixed in a liquid capable of arresting such additional removal. The fixed gel is then dried and sintered to form a glass. The step of removing the at least one other metal oxide from the gel can be followed with a step of withdrawing partially oxides of one of the remaining at least two other metals in order to form a transparent gradient-index glass after sintering.