Abstract: A travel cosmetic compact which in a single jar-like package supplies its user with a facial cosmetic, an applicator therefor and a mirror. The compact includes an upper section having a cylindrical shell adapted to accommodate a cosmetic, such as a pressed powder pad, and a lid screwed onto the shell to hermetically seal the cosmetic. Integrated with the upper section is a lower section defining a cylindrical chamber having an opening inlet to admit a cylindrical pull-out drawer adapted to accommodate a mirror and an applicator for the cosmetic, such as a powder puff.

Abstract: A window storm shield and guard assembly installable to fit within the jamb of a building window, or to fit onto the face of the building surrounding the jamb, the assembly, functioning both as a storm barrier to protect the window from strong winds and wind-borne debris, and as a security barrier to deter an intruder from entering the building through the window. The main components of the assembly are a main frame defining a rectangular socket, and a barrier frame which is normally nested in the socket and supports a perforated metal barrier panel that reduces but does not block the passage of light and the flow of air through the panel. The barrier frame is hinged at its upper end to the corresponding end of the main frame, and at its lower end, the barrier frame is latched internally to the corresponding end of the main frame. In the closed mode of the assembly in which the barrier frame is nested in the main frame and is latched thereto, the window is then fully protected.

Abstract: A transformable geometric construction set composed of triangular modules having different geometrical forms and sizes, the modules being interlinkable to create a planar mosaic that is transformable by a player into three-dimensional abstract or figurative structures having ornamental and/or utilitarian value. Each module is constituted by a triangular plate having slotted edges that define three side tines, each extending from a respective vertex. Interhinging of adjacent modules is effected by a coupling sleeve fitting over abutting tines of the modules whereby the modules can then be angled with respect to each other. Two adjacent modules may also be interconnected by intermeshing the abutting side tines of these modules.

Abstract: A printability gauge which make it possible for an observer by visual inspection of the gauge to determine the degree to which the dimensions of a printed bar code symbol deviate from the dimensions of an ideal bar code symbol defined by bars and spaces whose dimensions are derived from a unit bar of predetermined thickness. The gauge includes a checkerboard pattern whose black and white squares are all of the same size only when the thickness of the unit bar in the printed symbol matches that of the ideal symbol whereby the checkerboard pattern then appears to the observer to be 50 percent gray. Should the unit bar in the printed symbol, as a result of a processing error, be thicker than in the ideal symbol, then the size of the black squares will be correspondingly enlarged at the expense of the white squares, and the checkerboard pattern will then appear to be more than 50 percent gray.

Abstract: A dynamic system adapted to test a patient to determine the degree to which his physical stability is impaired and therefore predisposes the patient to injurious falls. The system includes an unsteady platform supported at a raised position above ground and free to rock about a horizontal X-axis and about a Y-axis which intersects the X axis at the center of the platform and is normal thereto so that the orientation of the platform is changeable relative to these axes. Mounted on the platform are electronic clinometers that yield signals which are a function of the deviation of the platform from the horizontal X and Y axes and therefore depend on the changing orientation of the platform when a patient to be tested stands thereon. These signals are fed to a computer whose output is applied to a video monitor having a display screen on which is presented a cursor the position of which is controlled by the signals.

Abstract: A ball and socket assembly adapted to receive the rotatable shaft of a rudder installed in a boat. The assembly is composed of a journal box having a spheroidal cavity in which is socketed a ball-like bearing having an axial bore to accommodate the rudder shaft, the bearing being free to rotate within the cavity and thereby align itself with the rudder shaft as it deviates from the vertical as a result of forces imposed on the rudder. The ball-like bearing is formed by a cylindrical tube of UHMW polyethylene which is heated to an annealing temperature and thereby expanded to accept a fiber-reinforced resin sleeve which when the UHMW tube cools is compressed thereby. The resultant sleeve-lined tube is then machined to assume the ball-like shape of the bearing.

Abstract: A baton useable by a drum major or by any other user capable of twirling the baton and in doing so varying its overall length the baton including an open-ended main tube that can be grasped by the user, the tube being divided by an internal transverse beam into opposing half sections. Telescoped into each half section through the open end thereof is a cylindrical rod having secured to its outer end a weighted ball. The inner end of each rod is connected by an elastic band to the beam whereby in the static state of the baton the balls are equidistant from the beam and the baton has a predetermined overall length. When a user twirls the baton, the resultant centrifugal forces acting on the balls causes the rods to advance outwardly to lengthen the baton to an extent that depends on the twirling velocity. A diminishing action causes the rods to retract into the half sections of the tube to shorten the baton.

Abstract: A light-weight, air-pressurized baseball bat useable by children to strike a ball, the bat having an enhanced striking power. The bat comprises striker and handle sections joined together by a coupler. The striker section is defined by a shell of synthetic plastic material whose shape is similar to that of a standard two-liter soda bottle. The shell is adapted to envelop a charge of compressed air and is provided with a half neck in which a valve plug is installed whose inlet projects therefrom. The handle section is provided at its upper end with a half neck that complements that of the striker section, the two-half necks being clamped together by the coupler which has a port therein to accommodate the valve inlet. By injecting compressed air into the striker section through the valve, the compressed air enveloped by the shell functions as a trampoline which when the ball impinges on the shell then acts to boost the rebound of the ball, thereby enhancing the striking power of the bat.

Abstract: A mock battle game for children in which each player in the role of a shooter is provided with a toy water gun which projects when triggered, a beam of water in the direction in which the gun is aimed. Each player who acts as a target wears a T-shirt or a similar garment having an outer layer lined by an inner layer. The outer layer is formed of a normally opaque white fabric which when a portion thereof is made wet by the beam is then rendered translucent. The inner layer is formed by a red-colored fabric which when an overlying portion of the outer layer is rendered translucent then exhibits a blood-like effect to indicate a hit.

Abstract: Lensless safety sunglasses formed of flexible synthetic plastic material die cut or otherwise contoured to define a soft frame having a pair of eye pieces and temple straps extending from opposite ends of the frame adapted to go around the head of the wearer to hold the frame, in the manner of a face mask, against the eyes of the wearer. The eye openings are created by tiny apertures forming a scrim which acts as a light-permeable screen to reduce the intensity of light passing through these openings, thereby preventing glare without however interfering with vision.

Abstract: A compact adapted to package a cosmetic in paste or cream form that includes volatile agents, the cosmetic package being hermetically sealed to prolong its shelf-life. The compact is provided with a case on whose base is anchored a cylindrical shell for storing the cosmetic. Surrounding the shell is an elastomeric sealing collar having a circular array of elastomeric legs extending from its lower edge and resting on the base of the case. Formed on the inner surface of the lid is a circular pressure ring which when the lid is swung down to close the compact then engages and applies downward pressure to the upper edge of the sealing collar to hermetically seal the cosmetic stored in the shell. This action compresses the legs which then exert an upward pressure on the collar to tighten its engagement with the ring and thereby strengthen the seal.

Abstract: A marine structure submersible in seawater, such as a hull, which when electrically activated is then resistant to fouling by marine organisms. The hull is formed by a structural laminate having a core sandwiched between inner and outer skins. The outer skin which forms the exposed surface of the hull is coated with a metallic paint defining a cathodic electrode. The core is constituted by balsa wood or foam plastic modules attached to an open-mesh scrim that includes conductive fibers to create an electrical grid defining an anodic electrode that is embedded in the laminate. Impressed across the electrodes is a direct voltage to establish an electric field causing marine organisms which seek to foul the hull surface to migrate away from this surface. Alternatively, the cathodic electrode may be formed by an open-mesh scrim defining an electrical grid interposed between the core and the outer skin.

Abstract: A transponder system for monitoring and logging depository transactions in which bags loaded with funds to be deposited in a bank are put, one at a time, into a bank inlet hopper from which the bags drop through a chute into a vault. Incorporated in each bag is a tag in the form of a passive transponder adapted to receive a radio-frequency interrogation signal and to retransmit the signal as a coded signal defining a number identifying the bag. Installed in the vault is a transceiver that transmits the interrogation signal in a confined radiation field within the vault, the field being intercepted only when a tagged bag falls into the vault or is withdrawn from the vault. When the field is intercepted by a tagged bag, its transponder picks up the interrogation signal and transmits to the transceiver the coded signal identifying the bag.

Abstract: A fabric-covered stuffed toy figure having a head hinged by a flexible neck to a torso to which are hinged arm and leg appendages. The fabric casing of the head is stuffed by an inflated balloon and the fabric casing of the torso is stuffed by another balloon, whereas the fabric sleeves of the appendages are stuffed by compressible padding. To facilitate packaging, storage and shipment, the figure can be collapsed by deflating the balloons, thereby flattening the head and torso, after which the hinged appendages may be folded over the flattened torso to reduce the space occupied by the figure.

Abstract: A make-up kit housing an assortment of different cosmetics, each of which is stored in a miniature module. The kit includes a case having a plurality of module sites, each site being defined by a set of guide pins anchored on the base of the case to abut the sides of the module seated at the site. Hinged to the case is a frame plate which swings down to engage the upper edge of the case to lock the modules therein. The plate is provided with a plurality of openings, each framing a respective module seated at a site to expose the cosmetic therein. To replace a module whose cosmetic is exhausted, the frame plate is raised and a fresh module is substituted at the site for the exhausted module.

Abstract: An audio-visual, virtual-reality system making it possible for a user to see, during successive time periods, a still image of a particular subject while listening to a program relating to that subject. The system consists of a standard record player coupled to a viewer unit, the record player being provided with a loud speaker and an output jack to both of which are fed the reproduced signals of the recording being played. The record carries a sound recording of a series of programs, each related to a different subject, each program being preceded by a supersonic cue signal. Inserted in the viewer unit is a film storage device containing a series of film frames, each having an image of a subject corresponding to a respective program of the recording. The unit includes a stepping motor to advance the frames so as to present them successively to the eyes of the user, and a control circuit for the motor responsive to cue signals yielded at the output jack of the player.

Abstract: A chemical anchor bolt and cap assembly installable in a hole drilled in masonry to tightly fasten a fixture thereto and to resist loosening of the fastening should the masonry be subjected to vibratory or other external forces. The assembly includes a bolt having an externally-threaded cylindrical shank coated with a release agent and a thin-walled hollow cap having a non-cylindrical shape coupled to the end of the shank and extending therefrom in axial alignment with the shank. To install the assembly, the shank and the cap coupled thereto are inserted through a mounting hole in the fixture into the masonry hole in which is deposited an uncured epoxy that then surrounds the cap and the shank. When the epoxy hardens, formed therein is a female thread matching the release-coated male thread of the shank so that the bolt is now turnable, the cap being then embedded in the epoxy.

Abstract: A marine bearing assembly for a propeller shaft suitable for a vessel which travels in intensely cold seawater where a conventional bearing, as a result of its contraction, would seize the shaft and prevent it from rotating. The assembly includes a cylindrical body having an axial bore therein to receive the rotating shaft, the body being formed of UHMW polyethylene having a low coefficient of friction and a high coefficient of thermal contraction. To complete the assembly, the body is exposed to a temperature below the freezing point of water to cause it to contract. The contracted body is then press-fitted into a sleeve whose internal diameter matches the contracted diameter of the body, whereby at higher temperatures the body seeks to expand, but being confined within the sleeve it is held under compression.

Abstract: A module adapted to generate a stream of hot, humid air, the module operating in conjunction with a proofing chamber in which pieces of yeast dough are raised prior to baking by being subjected to this stream. One section of the module is occupied by a replenishable water reservoir from which water is fed into the water pan of a steam generator. The pan is provided with a water heater element for boiling the water to produce steam which is collected in a steam chamber above the pan. A parallel section of the module is occupied by an air duct whose air intake at the inlet end of the duct leads to an air blower blowing a stream of air through an air heater element producing a hot air stream that flows via a mixing zone toward an exhaust vent at the outlet end of the duct. Steam from the steam chamber is injected by a steam tube into the mixing zone in the duct to intermingle with the hot air stream whereby discharged from the exhaust vent is a stream of hot, humid air.