Abstract: Improved, lightweight multi-passenger aircraft seating unit utilizes an elongated, generally S-shaped, composite panel to provide the sole support for the seat cushions, the seat back and seat back tray table, the seat belt anchors and the armrests. Front legs and rear legs made of thin sheet metal can be attached directly to the panel by bolts passing through the panel. A downwardly projecting front portion of the panel and an upwardly projecting rear portion, in cooperation with channel-shaped members bonded to the panel's peripheral edges, enhance the rigidity of the panel. The unit provides cantilever support without the necessity for the front and rear tubular stretcher members and the fore and aft support members used in conventional seats. The composite panel has a honeycomb core and its top and bottom skin surfaces are formed of continuous layers of resin-impregnated fibrous material such as graphite fibers, with additional swatches of such material overlying and integrally bonded into the skin.

Abstract: Improved constructions for mounting seat back tray tables to the frames of vehicle seats permit the tables to be quickly removed and replaced by authorized persons without the use of tools. Small studs on each side of the seat pivotally support apertures in the lower ends of the tray table legs. The legs may be deflected toward each other to release their mounting engagement with the studs but means are provided to prevent such release by unauthorized persons. In one embodiment, release can only be accomplished when the seat back is in its forward "break-over" position. In such position, the legs can be lifted so that a frame-mounted stud having a cylindrical end interrupted by a pair of opposed flats will pass from a small opening in the leg through a slot narrower than the small opening to a larger opening. In a second embodiment, a torsion tube joining the leg ends has a spring-loaded pin and slot connection to one leg so that the leg can be slightly axially retracted along the tube to accomplish release.

Abstract: Well screen assembly for permitting a plurality of pipe based well screen segments in an extended length production zone to be brought into operation simultaneously uses a ported connector sub to join each pair of screen segments so that the ends of the relatively large diameter perforated pipe base supports are attached to the connector's ends. Each screen also has solid internal pipe members of much smaller diameter which are joined to a central bore in the connector. Annular spaces between the internal pipe members and the pipe base supports communicate through the connector ports and permit flow from both screens to reach the inside of the inner pipe members when downhole perforations are made in only one of the inner pipe members.

Abstract: Legrest assembly for a passenger seat is pivotally mounted to the seat frame with a spring-loaded hydraulic lock mechanism which automatically lifts a leg or foot support panel to its generally horizontal use position when a control button on the armrest is actuated. The panel is pivotally moved to its storage position under the front edge of the seat cushion when the occupant forces it down with pressure from his or her legs against the upward biasing force exerted by its spring while actuating the control button on the armrest. For maximum comfort, the legrest pad is slidable through a range of fore and aft locations in its use position and can also be locked at any angle in its range of pivotal movement. A series of interconnected links cooperate with one another and with the seat frame in such a manner so as to substantially eliminate encroachment into the normal underseat storage area. A resettable mechanism prevents damage to the assembly from excessive downward loads on the suspended legrest pad.

Abstract: Plural pipe-based well screen segments can be assembled more quickly and easily and with no chance of damage to the screen jacket by welding a boss ring to the center pipe of each segment intermediate the upper pipe end and the screen jacket and then using a slip to support the boss ring. The slip is designed to be supported by holes normally present in the master bushing of a rotary drilling table or platform and is of sufficient height that the screen sections can be joined without the operator having to bend over. A pair of relatively light weight, hinged cantilevered plates can be easily lifted to provide clearance for the screen jacket to be lowered through the table and are then moved to their horizontal position just before the boss ring portion of the screen is lowered so as to engage them. A vertical bar on the slip acts as a wrench stop to permit the upper end of the pipe to be held stationary as the succeeding segment of screen is threaded to it.

Abstract: Device for facilitating the assembly of lengths of jacketed pipe base well screens in wells, wherein assembly is to be with manual or power tongs which have a greater vertical height than the blank pipe base end sections of the screens. The device includes a pair of pivoted semicylindrical portions which have compressible rubber liners at their ends which overlie the screen jacket and jaws at their ends which overlie the blank pipe. A removable pin locks the screen jacket end of the device at a fixed O.D. while the jaw end has a gap between the nonpivoted edges of the pivoted portions which permits a reduction in diameter as force from a set of tongs compresses the device and the jaws therein against a blank section of pipe.

Abstract: The invention relates to a suspension seat for a vehicle.The vehicle suspension seat has a back rest guided for vertical movement relative to a base part, a seat rest hinged to the back rest and guided for movement such that the body of the seat occupant swings about an axis through his ankles. An armrest is mounted for movement relative to the back rest and seat rest, so as to minimize movement of the seat occupant's arm relative to a steering wheel, by pivotally supporting the armrest about the instantaneous centers of rotation of the armrest relative to two parts of the seat which move pivotally with respect to each other in response to vertical movement of the back rest.

Abstract: Parallel folding armrest assembly for use on a vehicle seat has a rear hollow housing portion with a forward armrest portion pivotally mounted at its forward end for movement between several parallel positions including a low position which can form a seat cushion extension. The housing portion comprises one elongated element of a four-link parallelogram linkage and has a curved upper forward end surface which conceals the linkage and prevents any possibility of finger pinching during adjustment. An actuating lever positioned in the armrest can be manually lifted about a pivot pin to release a locking pawl slidably carried on one of the parallelogram links from engagement with a selected tooth of a curved rack attached interiorly of the aforementioned curved end surface. A single round bar pivotally supports the housing and is adapted to be demountably fixed to the rear short parallelogram link.

Abstract: Improved well screen has its open area defined by a helically wrapped strip of wire mesh which is supported by a rigid cage-like structure of welded steel longitudinal support rods and helical wrap wires. The design is cost competitive with the simple, and rather fragile, screens made by wrapping a mesh about a perforated pipe while offering the mechanical strength characteristics of wire-wrapped welded screens and a substantially larger open area for flow. The wire mesh strip is helically wound with a gap and at least one wrap wire is helically wound in the gap so that a small portion of its width can be firmly adhered to the rods while at least another portion of its width overlies an adjacent side edge of the mesh strip.

Abstract: This invention relates to a vehicle seat of the type in which a seat part is supported and guided for upward and downward movement relative to a base part by a spring suspension.In order to avoid loss of contact between the feet of the seat occupant and control pedals of the vehicle, the suspension includes linkages connecting the seat part to the base part for relative movement such that the seat occupant's ankles remain stationary whereas his knees swing about an axis through his ankles.

Abstract: Support structure for a multi-passenger seating unit, especially in aircraft, which is mounted to a seat track in the vehicle floor, includes a transverse floor stretcher tube of less length than the seating unit which is adapted to lie on the floor at the rear of the seating unit and be attached to at least a pair of seat tracks by a track fitting. The rear seat legs extend downwardly from an upper seat frame portion and are mounted to the floor stretcher tube at selected locations which are spaced from the track fittings so as to generally equalize the luggage storage space under each seat. In a preferred embodiment, a tension bracing member is also attached to the lower ends of each of the rear legs and to the floor stretcher tube and extends forwardly and upwardly to a point where it is attached to portions of the upper seat frame at locations which are spaced transversely from the front legs of the seat.

Abstract: Prepacked well screen and casing assembly for use in wells provides very substantial savings in the expense and time required to complete a well as compared to the conventional techniques of down-hole perforating and gravel packing. The assembly includes an external casing or liner member which would be provided with a large number of perforations during manufacture. A pipe base screen jacket assembly is positioned concentrically within the casing and attached to it by readily machinable upper and lower annular ring members. The hollow cylindrical annulus between the screen and casing is filled with a resin-coated gravel pack material which is cured after the fill operation to maintain its integrity. The assembly can be hung in the uncased producing zone of a new well by a liner hanger or could be placed in an existing cased well which is to be reworked by first milling away the existing casing in the production zone.

Abstract: Improved packer assembly for sealing a well screen to a casing avoids contamination problems of expandable lead packers and the abrasion of self-sealing packers which can be rendered ineffective before they reach their intended depth. A pair of annular end members, adapted to be threaded to the well screen and to the drill stem, are joined by a compressible, tubular metal portion. When the well screen is at its intended depth, a swedge dropped against the upper end member of the packer assembly will compress the ends of the tubular metal portion toward each other while the intermediate portion expands into sealing relation with the casing. The seal can be enhanced by applying rings or layers of elastomeric material to the tubular metal portion.

Abstract: Bracelet-shaped filter device molded of plastic has a frame surrounding a slotted filter portion and integral retaining portions which permit it to be held tightly in contact with the surface of a pipe. The filter portion contains a plurality of evenly spaced slots which are positioned so as to be spaced at a predetermined distance from an aperture in the pipe through which fluid may pass. The filter slots are V-shaped and of increasing width in a direction toward the center of the pipe. In a preferred embodiment, the retaining portions are integral straps which can be tightened and held by an integral fastener. In a modified structure which is suitable for small tubes, the device may include curved portions which are adapted to be spread apart and snapped over the sides of the tube. The devices are especially useful to prevent entry of the solid particles in a fluidized bed into the fluid supply conduit.

Abstract: Compact, low cost connector system for flexible tubing is adapted to removably connect a length of flexible plastic tubing for rotational but not axial movement to a recessed opening in a body member such as a pneumatic valve, a fitting, or an air cylinder. Preferably, a cylindrical sleeve member having transverse slots extending completely through opposed walls of the member is pre-positioned in a stepped recessed opening in axially spaced relationship with an elastomeric O-ring sealing member. The sleeve member is preferably retained in a fixed relation relative to the body member by a U-shaped clip. When one desires to attach a length of tubing, the U-shaped clip is removed and the tubing is inserted into the sleeve and O-ring such that its tip portion goes beyond the O-ring into a small central recessed aperture formed in the body member.

Abstract: Apparatus for making plastic screen panels, and especially abrasion-resistant mining screens, includes a large rotary screen drum member on which an extruded, profiled cross-section screen surface-forming wire is helically wound at a pitch which will produce the desired screen slot width. Immediately adjacent the drum member is a rod-positioning mechanism from which a plurality of screen panel support rods are sequentially fed from a stack and welded to the wires on the drum surface in a direction parallel to the drum axis and transverse to the surface wires. The welding is done with a double-edged heater bar which is temporarily placed in contact with the rod and drum before the rod is forced against the drum. The screen drum is indexed after each support rod is attached to it by an angular amount sufficient to provide the desired spacing on the finished panel.

Abstract: Anti-rattle track fitting for anchoring loads to slotted seat tracks has a vertically movable shear pin at its forward end and a rotationally adjustable threaded stud at its rearward end. The shank of the adjustable stud extends above the fitting and supports a stop collar which prevents excessive loosening of the stud while permitting the stud to be tightened so as to force it into engagement with the lips of the floor track. The shank is hidden from view by being inside the rear leg of a seat but a slot(s) at its upper end is engageable through a small aperture in the rear surface of the leg.

Abstract: Low profile resilient suspension utilizes a pair of horizontally positioned, adjustably tensioned springs to support the weight of a seat occupant. The springs are mounted to one of the movable or fixed seat frame members so as to be completely independent of the linkages, such as scissors links, which guide the movable seat frame member for generally vertical parallel movement relative to the base frame member and floor. The tension of the springs can be adjusted by weight adjustment control members fixed to one of their ends to accommodate occupants of differing weights. The adjustment can be made when the seat is either occupied or unoccupied. The weight adjustment control members remain fixed relative to the seat frame as the suspension oscillates vertically. The opposite ends of the springs are mounted to the ends of the short arms on a pair of connected bellcrank levers which are pivoted to one of the seat frame members.

Abstract: In the manufacture of tubing, and particularly finned tubing, for use by the heat transfer industry in the manufacture of heat exchangers, annealed ends and lands are desirable in certain applications to facilitate the assembly of the tubes to headers and baffles by expanding techniques. Such spot-annealed portions can be produced on a continuous basis by the described apparatus and method in which the moving tube is passed through a heating chamber which reciprocates on a carriage in the direction of tube movement. The heating chamber has a pair of power-actuated, current-carrying clamps which grip spaced portions of the tube so as to resistance-heat the tube portion between the clamps. The heating chamber and carriage move with the tube while it is clamped to provide sufficient heating time. The carriage then returns to its starting position. If desired, an inert gas can be supplied to the heating chamber to prevent oxidation and/or discoloration.

Abstract: Improved double wall tubing assembly which is especially useful in heat exchangers of the "coil-in-can" type for solar applications has a double wall construction which insures that a leak developing from a failure in either of the walls will not result in a mixing of fluid external to the outer tube with the fluid flowing internally of the inner tube. An outwardly projecting helical fin configuration formed on the outer surface of the inner tube provides an effective heat transfer medium between the inner and outer walls of the tube assembly while defining a spiral flow channel through which leakage entering through either wall can flow and be detected. A method of making the double wall tube assembly is disclosed wherein a finned outer tube is assembled over a previously finned inner tube. The assembled tubes are then brought into firm mechanical contact by the step of forming the assembled tubes into a coil and/or by expanding the inner tube.