Abstract: A tilt hoist for breaking down a lumber stack has an inclined face such that a lumber stack may be translated by sliding upwards over the inclined face. The tilt hoist includes a plurality of tilt masts having translatable hoist arms for receiving the lumber stack from a stack transfer device such as an infeed chain. The tilt masts and corresponding hoist arms are pivotally mounted to the support frame at the pivot points located at the bottom of the tilt masts. A selected first group of tilt masts (the number depending on the tiered material length) are rotated into a stack receiving position where the hoist arms engage the underside of a first lumber stack which has been advanced by an infeed chain to a stack transfer position.

Abstract: A suspendable apparatus for the lifting, rotating and transferring of essentially smooth-walled cylindrical objects, where such apparatus is preferably an air cylinder. The apparatus comprises a vertically oriented lifting mechanism consisting of a lifting chamber fixed at its upper end and movable at its lower end, with power to the air cylinder in the chamber. Additionally, there is a rotating mechanism for gripping and rotating the cylindrical object, such as a drum or paper roll. The rotating mechanism is mounted on a fixed arm secured to the lower end for movement therewith. The rotating mechanism further includes a housing having a fixed end secured to the fixed arm and a second end remote therefrom. The second end includes a pair of movable gripping arms mounted for rotational movement about the second end, where the arms include at least two arcuate shaped cups positioned to apply a vacuum against the wall of the cylindrical object.

Abstract: A one-at-a-time pill container and dispenser having a mechanism which allows for use of the device with existing containers. A child-proof lock is provided. The device has a mechanism for ensuring that only a single pill is brought into the dispensing chamber as a consequence of a partial rotation of the cap with respect to the bottle body. A reverse partial rotation of the cap then allows the pill to fall by gravity into the user's hand. The two-directional rotation to cause pill dispensing is easy for an adult but highly unlikely to be accidentally duplicated by a child. The mechanism is a series of wedge shaped chambers, sized for the capsule to be dispensed, with a covering flange over the dispensing chamber, to ensure that only a single capsule enters the dispensing aperture. The chambers are caused to be rotated by the mating engagement of the cap, via a pawl, with a segment shaped slot in the top of the dispensing mechanism.

Abstract: A bag palletizer has a frame equipped with two tier guides, two pallet lift mechanisms, two stacker work stations, and a lift control at each work station. A belt conveyor delivers bagged articles successively to both work stations. A pallet is supported on each pallet lift mechanism and raised until it abuts the bottom surface of the associated tier guide. Bags are manually removed from the conveyor and placed atop the pallets to form a lowermost tier on each pallet. After each lowermost tier is formed, the pallets are lowered by the respective lift mechanisms the height of one tier to provide sufficient space in the tier guides to form another tier atop the lowermost tier. These steps are repeated until a selected number of tiers are stacked atop each pallet at which time each pallet and its stack of bags are removed.

Abstract: A vehicle mounted game skinning device 10 comprising a vertical support unit 11 having a hitch connection member 30 connected on one end to a vehicle hitch 101 and connected on the other end to a vertical column member 20 which slideably receives a boom arm member 40 and a winch unit 12 mounted on the vertical support unit 11 and provided with a game gambrel 80 for raising and lowering game animals.

Abstract: In hydraulic or mechanical systems, remote controllers are used to actuate and then control the systems. For instance, in dump vehicles, a controller controls a hydraulic or mechanical actuator that is used to raise and lower the bed during the dumping cycle. A locking safety feature is provided on such a controller to assure that accidental or too rapid of dumping does not occur. This controller provides stops that prohibit additional actuation of the bed absent override. The locking safety feature includes a button within the knob that allows for one-handed operation.

Abstract: The function of the optional handler is to make plates available on demand to the imaging engine. A multitude of plates are stored inside cassettes and these cassettes are loaded into the handler. There may be up to four cassettes residing in the handler. Inside a cassette there may be a protective interleaf sheet, sometimes called a slip sheet, between each plate which is removed by the handler and discarded. The handler receives commands from the engine control sequencer which provides instructions as to what cassette needs to be accessed to make a plate available to the picker mechanism so the plate may be conveyed to the imaging engine. Conversely the handler provides status information to the engine to make full interaction with the system possible.

Abstract: A material-handling machine includes a substantially horizontal girder having an end, a supporting flanged wheel at the end, a truck having rail-riding wheels on a rail and a girder mid-portion extending from the end and connected to a support leg extending between the mid-portion and the truck. The leg and the mid-portion are connected by a pin permitting relative movement between the mid-portion and the leg. Such pinned connection reduces wear of the rail and the rail-riding wheels and reduces bending stress in the support leg.

Abstract: A frameless end dump trailer has one or more rotating structures placed in its subframe and suspension area in order to permit the use of a single point suspension in a tandem axle configuration in an unrestricted rotation mode with the option to engage the rotating structure to severely limit the rotation of the single point suspension.

Abstract: A compact product stacker is provided for simultaneously receiving, stacking and moving a three line series of flat-shaped products. The stacker utilizes product support paddle combinations which share common, pneumatically rotated, pivot rods. The product support paddle combinations are adjustable to a downward sloping orientation, allowing gravity to assist in moving the product from an upper conveyor to the top surface of the product support paddles, at low speeds. The product support paddle combinations and pivot rods are positioned to minimize the number of required parts, to allow the lines of product to be closer together, and to minimize the width and depth of the overall device. A product alignment feature is also provided which delays the downward movement of the paddles until all products have reached their proper positions on their respective product support paddle combinations.

Abstract: A trolley folding assembly includes a driving device and a driven device. A person is able to fold the whole trolley with only one hand by first pressing a safety switch and then pulling a driving rod received within a link of the driving device.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided which does not rearwardly move a stack of plates (e.g., a stack of lead acid battery plates) upon approach of a vacuum pick-up head associated with a rotary carrier assembly. Instead, the apparatus maintains a predefined gap between the forwardmost plate in the stack and the rotary carrier assembly until a pick-up head is aligned substantially with the stack. At that time, a movable detent member releases the forwardmost one of the plates in the stack allowing it to be drawn across the gap by the vacuum force of the pick-up head. The timing of the detent member is such that it returns to its detent position to halt advance of the remaining plates in the stack toward the rotary carrier and thereby maintain the established gap between the rotary carrier assembly and the next forwardmost plate in the stack.

Abstract: A cargo loading crane (10) comprises a crane bridge (16) having two hoist units (26, 28) with hoisting gear (26b, 28b) and assigned cargo pick-up devices (26c, 28c), a transfer unit (32) with at least one cargo pick-up region (32o, 32u) and a conveyor unit (64). Division of the horizontal transport path between the transfer unit (32) on the one hand and the conveyor unit (64) on the other shortens the duration of the operating cycle for loading and unloading a cargo carrier (18).

Abstract: A system and method for separating an electrically conductive particulate material, such as gold, from other materials. A ferromagnetic core is formed in a torroidal-like shape and is provide with a gap. A coil is wound around the core and an alternating current is applied to the coil to induce an alternating magnetic field at the gap. A stream of particles is directed into the gap. The frequency of the alternating current is set according to the specific resistivity of the particulate material which is to be separated from the rest of the material and according to the size of the particles which are to be separated from the rest of the material. By properly adjusting or setting the frequency of the alternating magnetic field, the first particles are imparted a trajectory which is different than the trajectory of the second particles in the particle stream.

Abstract: A folding bicycle is formed with a front frame and a rear frame connected rotatably with one another by a joint and capable of being completely separated and with a suspension system including a flexible element extending between a sprocket mounted on the second frame and the first frame and pretensioned by a spring which is engaged with the joint.

Abstract: Randomly delivered parcels are singled and/or sorted with a central separator which receives a random stream of parcels from a first conveyor. The parcels are removed in single file from the central separator with a second conveyor. The central separator has a semicircular belt curve with a conveyor belt incoming at an incoming-side curve radius and outgoing at a diametrically opposite, outgoing-side curve radius. The first conveyor discharges the parcels randomly into the semicircular belt curve. The second conveyor for removing singled parcels adjoins the belt curve at the outgoing-side curve radius and at a periphery of the belt curve. A return device returns to the belt curve any parcels not directly removed from the belt curve in singled condition. The return device is disposed adjacent the diametrically opposite curve radii and adjacent the second conveyor.

Abstract: A method for recovering materials, in particular rejects or scraps of sheathed cables or wires, comprises introducing the parts into an enclosed space and placing them on a support provided with a drain, removing the oxygen from the enclosed space, raising the temperature inside the enclosed spaced until it reaches a melting temperature of one of the materials so that it drains through the drain, collecting the melted material in a recovery tank maintained at a temperature less than or equal to the melting temperature, then raising the temperature inside the enclosed space to cause the material remaining on the parts to dissipate in the form of vapour or gas, and recovering after cooling, the material drained into the recovery tank and the material or materials remaining on the support.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for cleaning particulate materials which readily sink in water, being slightly heavier than water, such as beans, peas, grains, etc.; by removing much heavier particulates such as stones, glass, metal pieces, etc., and, by also removing particulates which either float or sink very slowly in water, such as plant stems and leaves, dead insects, bean pods, husks, dust etc. Differences in settling velocities in water are used to separate groups of particulate materials, by allowing the particulates to float or settle through two columns filled with water. The columns have water flowing upward at different velocities, or water flowing upward through one column and stagnant water in the other column.

Abstract: First and second conveyors transport discrete rows of cigarette packets to one or more elevators which lift successive packets of the two rows into an assembling plane wherein the packets are caused to form a succession of arrays each containing a first group of packets from one of the conveyors and a second group of packets from the other conveyor. The first groups of successive arrays are lifted to a first additional plane above, and the second groups of successive arrays are lowered into a second additional plane below the assembling plane. The thus lifted and lowered first and second groups of successive arrays are shifted in their respective additional planes onto a third conveyor between the first and second conveyors so that the first groups overlap but are spaced apart from the respective second groups, and the third conveyor transports the first and second groups of successive arrays in such a way that the first groups descend onto the respective second groups.

Abstract: An Improved Catenary Wire Rope Tensioning and Reeving System for Cargo Container Handling Cranes wherein the wire rope reeving for the catenary wire rope support trolleys is passive by being dead-ended to weights whereby it is continuously active.