Abstract: A combination of an engine block heater and electrical coupling includes the conventional cylindrical insert which slides into a sleeve on the mounting member for the block heater. An additional spring clip member is provided to hold the electrical coupling in place. The spring clip member has a collar surrounding a rib on the connector body and a pair of spring arms extending at right angles to the collar along a sleeve of the coupling to snap behind a rib on the sleeve. The spring clip arms are connected to the collar at an outer edge thereof with a pair of lobes of increased diameter between the spring clip arms for pushing of the collar longitudinally. A central opening of the collar engages over the connector body with a pair of inwardly projecting portions which slide along slots to a groove at the rib on the connector body.

Abstract: A curling hack has a base made of a fire retardant plastic material and a replaceable grip pad with ends fixed to the top of the base. A mating groove and rib arrangement on the base and pad provide a resilient, cushioning effect. The grip pad is a soft, high friction material. The back of the hack is supported on the floor by adjustable height columns. The top surface of the hack is configured without a notch between the horizontal front surface and the upwardly sloping back surface.

Abstract: A lawn mower is provided which has one or more rotatable wheels on one side of the mower shroud enabling the mower to cut grass at the edge of gardens and around obstructions.

Abstract: A double knife stubble cutting machine is provided for cutting stubble after a harvesting action into three separate pieces including a standing stubble piece and two cut pieces. The device comprises a frame having a center section and a pair of wing sections with the wing sections being pivotal about a horizontal axis upwardly to a transport position. The frame defines a tool bar across the full width of the frame which carries a pair of sickle knife support bars downwardly of the tool bar and arranged so that one sickle knife is forwardly of and upwardly of the second sickle knife. Both knives are open and free from support elements between the knives so that the cut material can be discarded back to the ground after cutting without any transverse movement or blockage. The harvesting action therefore allows the minimum amount of straw to be taken by the combine harvester so that the standing stubble element is cut into three pieces of equal length.

Abstract: A safety clamp for mounting on wires of an animal trap to hold the trap against inadvertent actuation comprises a pair of flat plates arranged in spaced parallel position and squeezable together against resistance from a coil spring positioned there between. Each plate carries a hook member with a straight portion having one end welded to the respective squeeze plate and extending therefrom at a right angle through a hole in the other squeeze plates to a hook portion beyond the other squeeze plate. The hook members are parallel and closely spaced so that the coil spring is wrapped around the two hook members in their position between the squeeze plates. Two further hook portions are mounted on one side of the squeeze plates and extend inwardly between the squeeze plates. The hook portions are engaged over wires of the trap and are held in place by the spring action pulling the hook portions together.

Abstract: In a well using a lift pump operated by a tension string from the surface, the down stroke of the pump is accelerated by providing a plunger element secured to the pump operating string. The plunger has an upper end exposed to the high hydrostatic pressure in the tubing string above the pump, and a lower end exposed to the substantially lower hydrostatic pressure in the well outside the tubing string. This produces a net downwards force on the pump operating string allowing a higher pump speed and a higher volume delivery.

Abstract: A castor wheel assembly comprises a base member for mounting on an object to be supported, a swivel member mounted on the base member for rotation about the vertical axis. A castor wheel is mounted on a pair of side plates which extend upwardly from an axle of the castor wheel and horizontally to a cross shaft connected to the side plates. The cross shaft is mounted within a square tube forming part of the swivel member. The cross shaft carries a plurality of radially extending flanges so that elastomeric members positioned between the flanges and inside the tubular member act as a spring suspension allowing the side plates to rotate with the castor wheel relative to the swivel member about a horizontal axis providing a suspension action.

Abstract: A puzzle of the type including three tracks arranged on a sphere in radial planes mutually at right angles and elements movable along the tracks includes the elements in the form of balls rollable along cylindrical tracks with an open area of the track surface available to grasp the balls and rotate them within the track in a row. The body is molded as an integral element with an open area inside the track thus using minimum materials and allowing the product to be molded in one piece. The balls are locked in place to prevent misalignment by a sprung retaining member which engages into the cusp between two balls in one of the tracks. The balls are arranged with different colors associated with different parts of the tracks and including a separate color for the balls at the six intersection points.

Abstract: An irrigation apparatus for parks, golf courses, acreages, sports fields, school yards, etc., is mounted on a small trailer. It includes a sprayer head of the impulse type, a self-priming centrifugal pump for supplying water under pressure to the sprayer head and an engine for driving the pump. A hose carried by the trailer is connected to the pump inlet and may be used to supply water to the pump from a lake, stream or a water line. Where a pressurized water supply is available, the pump may be used to boost the pressure and provide improved coverage and a better misting action. If the existing pressure is high enough, it can be connected to a direct inlet to the sprayer.

Abstract: An aquatic plant de-rooting apparatus includes a jib and a vertically adjustable hanger to be mounted on a vessel. The hanger carries two forwardly convergent rotors, each with a series of flat blades projecting radially from it. The rotors are independently driven by hydraulic motors. The rotors act to uproot the aquatic vegetation to remove the vegetation and inhibits its future growth.

Abstract: A conventional plastic packaging member of the type including a plurality of collars for engaging around the upper flange of a drink can to hold the cans together as a group for transportation is modified in that it is formed from two or more layers of plastics material which are bonded together with a degradable adhesive. Each layer is cut through at a particular location around the collar with the cut lines of one layer being offset from the cut lines of the other layer so that each cutline is bridged by a continuos portion of the layer. On breakdown of the degradable adhesive the packaging member falls into the two separate layers which are thus cut through by the cut lines to prevent the collars or loops in the layer from engaging around livestock with the danger of entrapment.

Abstract: A heat exchange process and apparatus are especially suited for use in heat recovery applications, especially in a run-around heat exchanger. The run-around heat recovery system has two liquid to gas heat exchangers, one for heat transfer with stale air being exhausted and one for heat transfer with fresh air being taken in. The two heat exchangers are linked with a common coupling liquid so that heat may be extracted from one of the air flows and added to the other. To improve the heat transfer process, a gas is injected into the liquid just before it enters one or both of the heat exchangers. The resultant mixed phase flow produces a much higher heat transfer coefficient in the heat exchangers, yielding a significant improvement in the system performance.

Abstract: A combined bumper and hoist for use on a vehicle has an elongate housing that mounts transversely across the end of the vehicle as a bumper. A hoist having a mast and a boom is pivotally mounted in the housing for movement between a stored position collapsed into the housing and a raised position with the mast upright and the boom projecting laterally from the mast. The raising of the hoist simultaneously lowers two legs from the bumper to support the bumper on the ground. All of the hoist functions, including raising the hoist to the use position, rotating the mast about its axis and raising and lowering the boom are performed hydraulically. The boom may be equipped with various accessories, including a chain hook and a jib carrying a cherry picker bucket.

Abstract: A slump tester for concrete includes a testing unit and a measuring unit. The testing unit includes a tube with a perforated lower section that is lowered into the concrete to be tested up to the level of a disc carried on the tube. A timer button on the measuring unit is pushed to initiate a timer. After a preset time, an alarm sounds and the rod-like measuring unit is lowered into the tube until contact is made with the concrete that has entered the testing unit. This is indicated by a dot appearing in a digital display on the upper end of the measuring unit. The depth to which the rod has been lowered into the tube is monitored using an induction coil wound on the upper part of the rod and a metal cylinder in the upper end of the testing unit. The inductance of the coil varies linearly with the degree of insertion and this is used to generate a signal representing the slump of the concrete, which is displayed on the measuring unit display.

Abstract: A conveyor for particulate material such as grain comprises a conveyor duct with an improved hopper section which has side walls which can fold down flat to allow passage over the hopper section of a vehicle. The conveyor is the type including a belt Which passes through a tube. The belt passes underneath the side walls of the hopper section to carry the material out of the hopper section. The side walls are mounted for pivotal movement about pins at a bottom edge of the side walls and are held in an upwardly and outwardly inclined position by springs. The structure is mounted on a base frame with ramps so that the vehicle can pass over the base frame and flatten the side walls, following which the side walls are pulled upwardly to the hopper position by the springs.

Abstract: A chain drive system is provided for communicating rotation from the bottom roller of a hay conditioner to the top roller of the hay conditioner. The top and bottom rollers include longitudinally extending flutes which intermesh as the rollers rotate. The top roller is mounted for movement at each end upwardly away from the bottom roller to accommodate increased quantities of crop or obstacles. The chain drive maintains angular synchronism between the rollers despite movement of the top roller away from the bottom roller. This is achieved using a single chain wrapped around a drive sprocket on the bottom roller and around two idlers arranged at the apexes of a triangle. The driven sprocket on the top roller is located within the triangle so that the chain wraps around the drive roller into the triangle, around the driven roller and back to the idler at the apex.

Abstract: A conventional header of a combine is modified by the addition of a second sickle knife positioned rearwardly of the pan of the header. The second sickle knife is mounted on a bar which is connected to a pair of arms extending under the pan to a forward end pivotally mounted just behind the conventional sickle knife of the header. The arms and the second sickle knife can thus pivot upwardly and downwardly and are mounted on suspension springs carried on the frame of the header. A simple drive from the conventional shaft of the header is connected through a belt to a drive wobble box carried on the second sickle knife at a position partway along its length.

Abstract: A cartridge extractor for extracting broken cartridges from a firearm uses a core rod with an enlarged head. The head is cross slotted so that it will compress as it is being pushed through the broken cartridge and will expand once it has passed the end of the cartridge. A tapered from face on the head cams the head into its contracted position as it passes through the casing. A rearwardly facing shoulder on the cartridge engages the end of the cartridge casing when the head is passed through the casing. The back end of the rod is removably attached to a base that is the same in size and configuration as the base of the cartridge being extracted so that it will cooperate with the extraction mechanism of the firearm. A resilient spacer tube surrounds the rod between the base and the head to assist in centering the extractor in the cartridge.

Abstract: A system for filling containers with a prescribed medication includes a support head for receiving a disposable syringe which allows the syringe to be pumped to transfer liquid to an from the syringe. A robot arm is also provided to carry medication and diluent containers to the syringe for withdrawing diluent to the syringe and injecting it into the medication container for mixing. In order to ensure alignment of the containers with the syringe, there is provided on the support head an additional needle grasping system which grasps and locates the needle for penetration of the membrane of the container. The support head includes a weigh scale as an integral element thereof so that the syringe is weighed after each step of the process.