Abstract: An electronic aligner head is mounted on one rear wheel of a vehicle. The aligner head projects a light beam toward the front wheel on the same side of the vehicle. A centering gage is adapted to contact lower points on the inner flanges of each of the rear wheel rims. A lateral arm is connected to a housing on the centering gage. The lateral arm extends past the one rear wheel and carries a centering gage head on the free end. The arm is adjustable in length to place the centering gage head at the same lateral distance from the chassis centerline as the light beam projector. The centering gage is removed from the position between the rear wheel rims and placed in a similar position between the front wheel rims. The centering gage head is configured to either reflect the beam back to a light beam detector on the aligner head or alternatively to direct the beam to a detector in the gage head. The detector provides a signal indicative of the toe of the one rear wheel.

Abstract: An absorber for increasing the concentration of oxygen in a solution has a pressure chamber therein which receives oxygen under pressure as well as a liquid to be oxygenated within an upper portion thereof. A shaft on which a turbine blade agitator is mounted is located in the upper portion of the chamber. The shaft is driven rotationally by a motor through a rotary seal in the pressure chamber cover. A baffle plate is mounted within the pressure chamber to define a lower portion therebeneath, which is in communication with the upper portion, but isolated from the agitation in the upper portion. The oxygen-liquid solution which drains into the lower portion is subsaturated and relatively quiescent, so that large oxygen bubbles therein disengage and rise into the upper portion, and entrained small bubbles therein dissolve in the subsaturated oxygen-liquid solution.

Abstract: An activated sludge sewage treatment process which includes a mixed liquor tank and a pressure vessel much smaller in size than said mixed liquor tank. At least a portion of the influent to said tank is directed to the pressure vessel where oxygen is dissolved therein under superatmospheric pressures. The pressure is then released and said portion of the influent gently transferred into said mixed liquor tank so that substantially all of the dissolved oxygen remains in solution until said influent portion is mixed with the sewage in the mixed liquor tank to thereby raise the dissolved oxygen concentration in the tank.

Abstract: A wheel alignment measuring system for measuring front wheel toe including a laser beam light projector mounted on a front wheel of a motor vehicle which projects a beam of light onto a pivotally mounted front mirror on the projector which oscillates back and forth through a ten degree angle about a reference line. The beam of light reflected from the oscillating mirror swings ten degrees on either side of a central reference beam line, and during its swing the beam strikes a fixed roof mirror mounted on the opposite front wheel of the vehicle. The thus reflected beam sweeps back and forth across the light projector and is successively intercepted by each of a pair of closely spaced photocells on the light projector, the cells being equally spaced on opposite sides of the reference beam line. The cells develop signals when they intercept the light beam which signals control and up/down counter through a flip-flop.

Abstract: A light projector mounted on a front wheel of a vehicle uses a single laser to develop a beam which is split into a pair of light beams. The first light beam is projected to a calibrated mirror mounted on an adjacent rear wheel and is reflected to a target mounted near the projector on the front wheel of the vehicle so that the front wheel may be aligned with the rear wheel. The second light beam is projected to a mirror mounted on the other front wheel and is reflected to a target mounted adjacent the projector to check the toe of the front wheels. The target comprises a multichannel encoder which develops a plurality of Gray-coded binary signals in response to the position of the return beam. A rotating prism causes the light beams to sweep repetitively in a vertical plane so that the beams will strike the mirrors and the targets even when the projector is not mounted in a level position.

Abstract: A static vehicle wheel balancer has a base which is supported on the floor and which mounts a vertical post. A wheel balance head is provided for receiving and centering a tire and wheel assembly to be balanced and has a level for indicating unbalance. A universal pivot between the balance head and the post is provided wherein the pivot point of the balance head is maintained coincident with the post axis, even when the post axis is inclined from the vertical. In one embodiment, the pivot assembly is formed by an upwardly facing spherical anvil surface that supports three equal diameter balls. The balancing head mounts a single pivot ball that is supported by the three support balls. Resilient means are provided for cushioning the pivot ball. In another embodiment of the invention, the universal pivot action is obtained by the use of a Hooke universal joint. Another embodiment embodies a universal joint of the Hooke type wherein the spider arms are made in the form of flexible blades.

Abstract: A static vehicle wheel balancer has a base which is supported on the floor and which mounts a vertical post. A wheel balance head is provided for receiving and centering a tire and wheel assembly to be balanced and has a level for indicating unbalance. A universal pivot between the balance head and the post is provided wherein the pivot point of the balance head is maintained coincident with the post axis, even when the post axis is inclined from the vertical. In one embodiment, the pivot assembly is formed by an upwardly facing spherical anvil surface that supports three equal diameter balls. The balancing head mounts a single pivot ball that is supported by the three support balls. Resilient means are provided for cushioning the pivot ball. In another embodiment of the invention, the universal pivot action is obtained by the use of a Hooke universal joint. Another embodiment embodies a universal joint of the Hooke type wherein the spider arms are made in the form of flexible blades.