Abstract: A ground supported poultry fountain includes a basin with an annular drinking trough, a bell shaped reservoir detachable mounted atop the basin and a heating element affixed to the bottom of the basin. The heating element covers the bottom surface of the basin under the reservoir and along the inner wall of the drinking trough. The heating element prevents the water in the reservoir, as well as the water in the trough from freezing when ambient temperatures drop below freezing.

Abstract: A cylindrical light source comprises multiple LEDs mounted on either the exterior or interior surface of the cylinder, with heat-sink fins respectively on its interior or exterior. The LEDs emit radially, but their emission is redirected along the cylinder axis by individual ellipsoidal reflectors.

Abstract: A waveguide version of a Kohler integrator is disclosed, utilizing geodesic lenses with a surface that can be mapped to a gradient-index Luneburg lens or to a nonfull-aperture Luneburg lens in such a way that the light paths in the gradient index lenses map into the geodesics of the surface, with the outer region of the gradient index lenses mapped into a flat surface. Arrays of these can be applied to lines of LEDs, as in CHMSLs, to mix light in intensity and in illumination as well as to avoid the deleterious effects of binning and burnout, or in multicolor arrays, to ensure complete chromatic mixing.

Abstract: A cover for a baby stroller is disclosed. The cover includes thermally insulated panels for retaining warmth for use in cold weather. The front panel includes an umbrella-shaped window with zipper access to allow the baby to be removed from or replaced into the baby stroller. The use of a rear zipper and top and bottom pull strings allows the cover to be attached to a range of baby strollers. By varying the manufactured dimensions of the panels of the cover, covers can be supplied for a very broad range of baby strollers.

Abstract: An apparatus for bone milling includes a housing defining a first opening, a second opening, a third opening, and a linear passage from the first opening to the second opening. The bone mill further includes a rotatable grinding member, wherein the rotatable grinding member has a substantially cylindrical, rod-like shape, with at least a portion of the rotatable grinding member substantially filling or occluding a portion of the linear passage. An actuator element is coupled through the third opening to the rotatable grinding member, and a receptacle is removably coupled to the second opening for retaining the milled material.

Abstract: A hydrocyclone having a flat lower plate 14 contains a tube or rod 22 placed unconstrained within the body 10. The tube or rod 22 acts as a vortex breaker, reducing the rate at which air is introduced through the center of the vortex at the lower outlet aperture 16 during operation. When the hydrocyclone of the invention is employed for classification of pressurized stabilized gas-liquid emulsions into fractions of greater and lesser bulk density, the greater bulk density fraction is ejected from the lower outlet aperture 16 and the lesser bulk density fraction flows under pressure out the vortex finder tube 20.

Abstract: A water heater has a housing, a heating element, and an electric power cord secured to the housing and to a three-pronged plug configured for insertion into a standard electrical power outlet. The power cord is continuous from the housing to the three-pronged plug. A portion of the housing has a diameter which is less than approximately one inch and is configured to extend through a drain plug opening in the tank for securing the housing to the tank. The plug has a diameter which is substantially equal to, or less than, the diameter of that portion of the housing.

Abstract: A hot mix asphalt batching plant has two separate air handling systems—one for the dryer and another for handling the fugitive dust. These two systems are separate, so that variations in operating conditions for the dryer do not affect the performance of the fugitive air handling system.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creating a structure (10) with complex external and internal shapes (12 and 14) includes a unitary flexible mold of a structure (10) with complex external shapes (12). A unitary flexible male mold (24) of the interior of the structure with complex internal shapes (14) that mirror the complex external shapes (12) is created. A keying device (42) connected to the molds (16 and 24) is utilized so that the unitary flexible female mold (16) and the unitary flexible male mold (24) are maintained in a predetermined, fixed relationship (40) when pressed together.

Abstract: A system for communicating between a store computer and locations in the les of a retail facility. A hard wired grid connects the store computer to a plurality of transceivers located in zones throughout the facility and the transceivers establish a wireless link to the locations. One embodiment is a product information display system in which the locations are fixed information display terminals, such as price displaying shelf tags. Another embodiment is an item tracking system, in which the locations are movable shopping carts or baskets.

Abstract: A distributed artificial intelligence data acquisition and equipment control system forms a local area network (LAN) over the AC power lines of a vessel for communicating shipboard engineering casualty and damage control information. Each node in the LAN includes a power line carrier current (PLCC) transceiver, a slave processing unit for interfacing with local sensors or equipment and a master processing unit for controlling the formation, transmission and reception of offset-quadrature-phase-shift-keyed (OQPSK) LAN messages. Nodes in the LAN are strategically positioned at various locations throughout the ship and are configured to function either as a Terminal Unit or as a Data & Control Unit. Terminal Units are equipped with a touch screen display and an intelligent controller that provides a user-friendly interactive operator interface through a series of display screen prompts and includes a data base of ship casualty and damage control information stored in a local non-volatile random access memory.

Abstract: A filling machine for containers simultaneously fills an array of containers, for examples immediately following depalletizing, and includes motor driven positioners for the nozzles to accommodate changes in the size of container being run. The containers are laterally abutted to occupy evenly spaced container positions, and the array can be compressed by a contoured push bar to force the entire array into registry. The nozzles are flexibly coupled to a source of material to be discharged into the containers, and are mechanically moved by actuators that displace at least a subset of the nozzles along the axes of the array. In this way the nozzles are moved into registry with the container array. The nozzles are also vertically movable relative to the containers, and each includes a valve opened by contact with a respective container, for discharging only into occupied container positions and not voids in the array.

Abstract: Open containers having uniform dimensions are handled in a group for loading of ballast and/or for filling with container contents prior to sealing. The containers are provided upright on a substantially unobstructed surface and are forced into a substantially contiguous array by inward pressure on the array in at least one direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the containers. Compressing the array of containers in this manner moves the containers into immediately contiguous regular positions in a resulting container array, which is aligned in registry with dispensing orifices. One or more movable sweep arms which may cooperate with fixed walls laterally bounding the conveying surface are used to compress the array. The sweep arms and the fixed walls are scalloped to form receptacles defining a closest possible positioning of the peripheral containers, which during compression cause adjacent inward containers to become correctly positioned. Nozzles coupled to a material dispenser (e.g.

Abstract: Lightweight containers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles are rendered stable for conveyance on a horizontal conveyor by addition of water ballast. Ballast in the amount of about 3 to 10% of the bottle volume is sufficient to enable increased production line speed with fewer bottle jams due to the lightweight bottles falling over. The bottles are arranged upright, for example at the outlet of a depalletizer, and loaded with ballast from a reservoir or pressurized supply of water. Preferably, the bottles are loaded in a group and a plurality of valves having valve bodies on a movable common support open simultaneously. The ballast is removed at the bottle rinsing station, which inverts the bottles to drain the ballast as well as rinse water.

Abstract: An automated fiber processing system for processing of fiber stock in a continuous, uninterrupted process from fiber bales to the formation of spun yarn.

Abstract: A pair of elongate arms, carried by a material handling device such as a refuse collection vehicle, are oppositely movable between a release position and a gripping position. The friction enhancing surface of a belt carried by each arm compliantly engages the perimeter of a container or similar article as the arms move to the gripping position. In response to movement of the arms to the gripping position, a limb pivotally carried by each arm extends to present a segment of the respective belt to engage the surface of a small container.

Abstract: A pair of elongate arms, carried by a material handling device such as a refuse collection vehicle, are oppositely movable between a release position and a gripping position. The friction enhancing surface of a belt carried by each arm compliantly engages the perimeter of a container or similar article as the arms move to the gripping position. In response to movement of the arms to the gripping position, a limb pivotally carried by each arm extends to present a segment of the respective belt to engage the surface of a small container.

Abstract: A medical needle guard device is disclosed characterized by use of a pair of telescoping tubular sleeves mountable upon the hub of conventional medical needles by plural clip inserts positionable within one of the tubular sleeves. The plural clips may be specifically formed in differing configurations and positioned at differing axial positions along the length of one of the tubular sleeves to permit the medical needle guard to be retrofitted onto differing medical needle hubs.