Abstract: An apparatus for winding material (such as cable, rope or paper or plastic webs) cable about a small reel from a large supply reel in which the cable is stored in bulk includes two arm units. One arm unit contains a first major arm section. A reel is carried between the distal ends thereof. Each arm unit also contains a minor arm extension. Each arm extension is connected to the major arm section by a vertical pin. There is a base. On that base, there are two upright brackets that are spaced apart. One bracket supports a first major arm section and the second bracket supports the second major arm section. There is a pivot on each bracket so that the major arm section can pivot up and down sort of like a modified teeter totter. Furthermore, the distal ends of the major arm sections can move either closer together or further apart. The inner ends of the major arm sections are connected to minor arm extensions by a vertical pin pivot. A cone is rotatably secured to the distal end of each major arm section.

Abstract: A pylon assembly for a leg prosthesis including an upper pylon, a lower pylon and a spring. A portion of both the upper pylon and the lower pylon are tubular. The spring is disposed between the upper pylon and the lower pylon inside the tubular portions. Upon assembly, the tubular portion of the lower pylon extends at least partially inside the tubular portion of the upper pylon with the spring extending from a plug inserted in the tubular portion of the lower pylon to a plug inserted in the tubular portion of the upper pylon. The spring biases the lower pylon away from the upper pylon. Compression and extension of the spring allows the lower pylon to reciprocate within the tubular portion of the upper pylon. This reciprocation allows the leg prosthesis to simulate the stride and cadence of a natural leg. In addition, a key may be inserted through the tubular portion of the upper pylon and extending into a key channel cut in the external circumference of the lower pylon.

Abstract: A weight lifting support and cushion device for attachment to a user's hand and a hand grippable portion of an exercise device, such as, for example, an exercise or weight lifting bar. This weight lifting support and cushion device includes two double overlay straps, a prop brace, a recoil tip, foundational connector, and a split cushion support system. The device could be worn on either the left or the right hand of the user; and in instances where both hands are required to grip the exercise device, a weight lifting support and cushion device will be worn on both hands. The two double overlay straps are secured to the prop brace on their first ends and extend substantially parallel until they converge at the recoil tip. The foundational connector has looped ends through which a double overlay strap is inserted so that the double overlay straps together slide freely within the looped ends of the foundational connector.

Abstract: A recognition apparatus and method are provided for identifying the type of work piece loaded onto the rotating shaft chuck of an ophthalmic product generator. A digital electronic system supplies signals which control the angular displacement of the chuck. Each type of work piece has a unique pattern of passages aligned on a plane transverse to its rotational axis which rotate into and out of alignment with a single registration line in the plane. Unique signature data which identifies each type of work piece by the angular positions at which the passages come into and go out of alignment with the registration line is stored in the digital electronic system. A beam of light, preferably infrared, is continuously transmitted along the registration line during a signature rotation of the chuck. The angular positions of the loaded work piece and the status of an electrical signal generated when the light beam passes through the passages are detected and stored in the digital electronic system.

Abstract: A pump valve for use with positive displacement/reciprocating pumps. The pump valve includes an adapter, valve body, disk, spring, and retaining ring. The adapter is driven or pressed into the fluid end of the pump and includes an annular interior threaded surface to receive a mating threaded neck of the valve body. The valve body includes the neck, trunk having a cavity therein, and an integral valve seat inside the cavity of the trunk. The disk has a diameter slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the cavity so as to fit snugly therein and seat on the integral valve seat of the valve body. The spring is coiled from a first coil of smallest diameter so that each successive coil is of an increased diameter to a final coil of largest diameter. The spring is inserted inside the cavity in the trunk and contacts the disk. The spring is compressed so as to fit entirely within the cavity. A groove is cut in the wall of the trunk on its internal circumference so as to receive a retaining ring.

Abstract: A prenatal audio communication device has a receiving chamber which accepts sound waves for transmission through a flexible tube to a megaphone secured against the abdomen of a pregnant woman so as to transfer sound waves from an external source with which the chamber is juxtaposed to a position proximate the ears of the baby in the womb. Means is connected to the megaphone for encircling the pregnant woman and securing the megaphone outlet port against her abdomen. Preferably, the inlet port has a perimeter contoured to be snugly juxtaposed about the mouth of a typical adult. A curved lip extends along the inlet port perimeter to form a continuous seal between the chamber and the face of the user, to increase the comfort level of the user when the chamber is pressed against the face and to make a single chamber more universally usable with a variety of sound wave source shapes and sizes.

Abstract: A screen for use with a vibrating screening machine to filter undesired particles from a liquid uses a filter cloth having a substantially rectangular mesh suitable for separating the undesired particles from the liquid bonded in laminar relationship to a back-up having a substantially coarser mesh. The substantially rectangular mesh is formed by a lengthwise array of parallel individual wires woven with a transverse widthwise array of parallel groups of at least three wires. The individual wires are distorted from rectangular proximate the ends of the rectangles by bows in the individual wires at their area of intersection with each of the parallel groups of wires. This configuration provides improved throughput and life characteristics over known screens. A plastic grid of mesh substantially greater than the back-up mesh may be fused to the bonded lamination of the filter cloth and the back-up.

Abstract: An adhesive insert anchor including an anchor body and a screw member for insertion into a drilled hole in a substrate containing an adhesive. The anchor body further including an integral friction segment and an adhesion segment. The friction segment includes an internally threaded cavity in which to receive the screw member and a knurled portion. The adhesion segment includes a cylindrical section and a plurality of saucer-shaped buttons positioned along its length ending with a terminal button. The buttons on the adhesion segment provide greater surface area for contact between the adhesive and the anchor. The friction segment has an external diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the hole drilled in the substrate, thereby providing a friction fit between the anchor body and the walls of the substrate hole.

Abstract: In a linear actuator, a cylinder is separated into forward and reverse chambers by a piston. A lead screw is threadedly engaged in the piston and a piston rod connects to the load. A turbine applies torque to the screw to urge the screw toward clockwise or counterclockwise rotation depending on the direction of the piston movement. The tangent of the lead screw helix angle is so substantially equal to the coefficient of friction between the piston and the screw that the torque generated by the turbine does not significantly vary the force exerted on the load and the force on the load does not significantly vary the speed of movement of the load. Variations between the static and dynamic coefficients of friction between the lead screw and the piston can be offset by selection of an appropriate lead angle and friction coefficient in the turbine driven system.

Abstract: A holster supports a shotgun at the side of a shooter above the ground in an opened condition. A seat supports the shotgun and spaced side walls extend upwardly to receive the pivotally connected barrel and stock portions of the shotgun therebetween so as to prevent the shotgun from sliding laterally off the seat. A mounting device is provided on one of the side walls for mounting the holster proximate the waist of the shooter. The seat has a front section for supporting the barrel portion of the shotgun and a rear section for supporting the stock portion of the shotgun. The front and rear sections lie in intersecting planes which extend downwardly at an obtuse angle from their line of intersection to support the barrel and stock portions of the shotgun at approximately the obtuse angle defined by the planes. A pad preferably of leather protects the surface of the shotgun from being scratched or marred by the holster.

Abstract: A matrix system encodes five discrete audio signals down to a two-channel stereo recording and decodes the recorded stereo signal into at least five stand alone, independent channels to allow placement of specific sounds at any one of 5 or more predetermined locations as individual, independent sound sources, thus producing a 5-2-5 matrix system. One embodiment of the system provides signals to left front, right front, center, left rear, and right rear speaker locations. The matrix system is compatible with all existing stereo materials and material encoded for use with other existing surround systems. Material specifically encoded for this system can be played back through any other existing decoding systems without producing undesirable results.

Abstract: A conformal tool for fining/polishing ophthalmic lenses has a rigid base, a substantially air impervious elastic membrane and a bladder conformable to a surface of the lens to be fined/polished. The perimeters of the base, the membrane and the bladder are contiguously clamped to provide a pneumatically discrete chamber between the base and the membrane and a chamber containing conformable filler such as sand between the membrane and the bladder. The pneumatically discrete and filler containing chambers together have a substantially fixed volume. The clamping provides a passage into the pneumatically discrete chamber so that air under pressure, when admitted into the pneumatically discrete chamber, stretches the membrane to increase the pneumatically discrete chamber volume and decrease the filler containing chamber volume. As air pressure is increased, the air separates the membrane from the base to build an air cushion therebetween as the conformable filler chamber volume decreases.

Abstract: An anti-theft device is provided which, when used on a trailer coupler, locks on to the trailer coupler and covers the receptacle of the coupler, thereby preventing the insertion of a hitch ball or other towing means into the receptacle. Locking engagement is achieved by a retaining member being moved and held in a position inside the receptacle of the coupler by the operation of a lock housed in the body of the anti-theft device. In another embodiment of the invention locking engagement is achieved by the retaining member being moved to a position inside the coupler receptacle through operation of a lever independent of the retaining member and being held in such position through operation of a lock housed in the body of the anti-theft device. No tools or auxiliary parts are required to attach or remove the device.

Abstract: An air pressurized chuck has a spindle journalled in a housing for rotation about a longitudinal axis. One means is mounted in a penultimate portion of the spindle and rotatable therewith for longitudinally reciprocating along the axis in one direction in response to the bias of a coil spring disposed concentrically about the axis between the spindle and the reciprocating means and in an opposite direction in response to a pneumatic force selectively applied to the reciprocating means in excess of the bias. Another means is mounted in an ultimate portion of the spindle and rotatable therewith for concentrically reciprocating gripping portions thereof in relation to the longitudinal axis in an outward direction in response to movement of the longitudinal reciprocating means in the one direction and in an inward direction in response to movement of the longitudinal reciprocating means in the opposite direction.

Abstract: An adhesive insert anchor including an anchor body and a screw member for insertion into a drilled hole in a substrate containing an adhesive. The anchor body further including an integral friction segment and an adhesion segment. The friction segment includes an internally threaded cavity in which to receive the screw member and a knurled portion. The adhesion segment includes a cylindrical section and a plurality of saucer-shaped buttons positioned along its length ending with a terminal button. The buttons on the adhesion segment provide greater surface area for contact between the adhesive and the anchor. The friction segment has an external diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the hole drilled in the substrate, thereby providing a friction fit between the anchor body and the walls of the substrate hole.

Abstract: Instruments for use in endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery include a cannula having a diameter suitable for passage in the carpal tunnel, a diametrically narrowing open tip to facilitate entry into the carpal tunnel and a matted interior surface to maximize visual clarity of the carpal tunnel display, an obturator having a diameter suitable for passage in the cannula end, a plow shaped tip which laterally shifts tendons and nerves from its path as the tip is passed in the carpal tunnel and a sway-back portion proximate the tip which maximizes the efficiency of the tip as it plows through the carpal tunnel tendons and nerves and a rasp having a rod of diameter suitable for passage in the cannula, a roughened face on an upwardly tapering trapezoidal cross-section tip for guiding penetration of the tip through the longitudinal slot in the cannula but limiting penetration of the tip therethrough, and a bend in the rod so that the roughened face of the tip is in substantially flush alignment with the ligaments when t

Abstract: A valve gate for sealing the inlet from the outlet of a block and bleed type valve consists of two independent disk-like members which are interconnected by a slide mechanism allowing the disk-like members to be moved simultaneously forwardly in a first configuration, to be moved simultaneously rearwardly in a second configuration and to float and, in a specially preferred embodiment, to pivot with respect to each other between the first and second configurations so as to facilitate release of the disk-like members from the valve seat on withdrawal. An upper disk-like member to seal the inlet and a lower disk-like member to seal the outlet are connected by one or more members engaging mounting frames fixed thereto. One of the mounting frames is connected to the valve stem for horizontal movement of one of the disk-like members into and out of substantial registration with either the inlet or the outlet in response to operation of the valve stem.

Abstract: A sight pin is supported from a sight chassis. The sight chassis is slidably supported from a camshaft mounting bracket. The camshaft has a cam lobe which extends into an opening such as a slot or channel of selected shape in the sight chassis. Rotation of the camshaft rotates the cam lobe which is in the shaft slot or channel. This causes the sight chassis to move with respect to the bracket.

Abstract: A lifting jack for raising boats and other objects. It has an inner housing or tube which is supported from a flat base. An outer tube is slidably mounted over the inner tube. A hydraulic jack inside the inner tube raises and lowers the outer tube. Two parallel series of vertical catches are supported on the outside of the outer tube. A selected pair of these catches support a connecting rod which holds a pair of flat support arms in a fixed relationship. The arms support a lifting pad in a plurality of elevations for each pair of vertical catches. A safety latch permits the outer housing to be raised but must be manually released for lowering.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for cleaning articles such as radiators, pizza pans, carburetors, engine parts. A suitable cleaning fluid is placed in a container, and the article to be cleaned is placed in this cleaning fluid. A vibrator is attached to the container such that the vibrations are transferred to the cleaning fluid to clean the articles. The induced waves in the cleaning fluid is a powerful scrubbing force.