Abstract: An apparatus for stacking cards, printed sheets or similar products has feeder stations situated in a row and a conveyor with pushers. The feeder stations include spaced inner and outer tables. Individual products are deposited on the tables at the feeder stations. The inner tables are provided with lateral stops and a plurality of nozzles which emerge from the upper surface at a shallow angle towards the stop. Compressed air emitted from these nozzles creates a suction force which stabilizes the products on the tables. The pushers extend between the tables and push the product through a cut-out in the outer table onto a stack of products moving in synchronization on the conveyor below the tables.

Abstract: A process for forming a coating on a surface of a textile fiber, comprising subjecting the fiber surface to first and second process phases while passing the fiber through a reaction medium comprising a cold flowing plasma containing an active species, the first phase including treating the fiber surface in order to increase its adhesive properties, and the second phase including introducing a polymerizable material comprising at least one of a prepolymer and a monomer into the cold flowing plasma in the presence of the fiber under conditions sufficient to induce the formation of a polymerized coating on the fiber surface, polymerization being induced by the active species.

Abstract: A valve having a valve body, a valve plug and a deformable valve seat. A generally annular, wedge-shaped space is provided between a portion of the valve seat and a seat support in the valve body. Closing the valve brings the valve plug into single line contact with the deformable seat. Continued closing creates a myriad of line contacts as the seat deforms into the wedge shaped space, occluding any foreign surface particles and bridging surface discontinuities.

Abstract: A regenerative thermal oxidizer for oxidizing a contaminant in an air or other gas stream includes a heat transfer material which heats the incoming air and collects heat from the exiting air. The direction of flow of the air through the oxidizer is periodically reverse for the regenerative heat exchange. When flow is reversed, a quantity of untreated air in the oxidizer which would otherwise be discharged to the atmosphere is collected in a purge chamber which surrounds the lower portion of the discharge stack. The untreated air enters the bottom of the chamber and the air already in the chamber is forced out from vent holes in the top of the chamber into the stack. The untreated air in the chamber is fed back to the oxidizer through the inlet of the blower feeding the oxidizer while clean air is drawn into the chamber from the stack through the vent holes.

Abstract: Cigarette blocks comprising an even number of individual cigarettes arranged in an odd number of rows are formed through the use of a hopper having a linear array of parallel shafts with one of the shafts being permanently occupied by a blocking member at the level of an intermediate row. Cigarettes are delivered singly to the blocked shaft beneath the blocking member in synchronism with the transfer, in a direction transverse to the feed direction, of all of the cigarettes comprising the block to downstream apparatus.

Abstract: A nozzle assembly which comprises nozzle duct having inlet and discharge ends is provided with a tubular support. The support has a first end in fluid communication with the nozzle duct adjacent the discharge end thereof. The second end of the support extends to a location where it is accessible, to enable a source of cleaning fluid to be coupled thereto, and is normally capped.

Abstract: The palletizing and retrieval from palletized storage of stacks of printing works products, folded sheets of paper for example, is facilitated by associating an upper and a lower interleaf sheet with each layer of stacks of the products. This provides a pair of interleaf sheets between adjacent layers of the stacks and the uppermost stack layer may be caused to slide relative to the adjacent lower stack layer by imparting a pulling force to the lower interleaf sheet associated with the stack layer to be moved while applying a restraining force to the upper interleaf sheet associated with the adjacent lower stack layer. Apparatus for use in the practice of the invention provides for withdrawing the interleaf sheets from magazines and feeding them into position as the stack layers are formed and the invention also encompasses apparatus for separating the interleaf sheets from a stack layer being retrieved from storage and directing the separated interleaf sheets to storage magazines.

Abstract: Ventilation device with a heat exchange element, preferably for arrangement in an outer wall (13) of premises which are to be ventilated with balanced volumes of ambient air (15). The ventilation device comprises a pair of air flow passages (23A,23B) each including two separate ventilation tubes (16,19) aligned in the direction of air flow, with generally identical heat exchange elements (18,22) at the ends thereof. A fan (24A,24B) is located centrally between the two heat exchange elements in each passage.

Abstract: In a mass spectrometer, an aperture defining a beam path to a particle detector (4) is defined by a fixed aperture (5) and a cover (6) mounted on respective carriage assemblies (50,49) running along a beam 46. When a shaft (36) drives carriage (50), a rod (22) on carriage (49) is engaged by an end of a slot (21) of carriage (50), so that both carriages can be moved to a desired aperture location. After reaching this position, carriage (50) may be moved in the opposite direction, within a range defined by the length of the slot (22), without causing movement of carriage (49), to vary the amount by which member (6) covers member (5) and to thereby define a desired aperture width. A plurality of carriages can be coupled to one another in this manner to form a chain of apertures whose positions and widths may be varied independently using a single drive shaft (36). The fixed aperture (5) and cover ( 6) may be replaced by a pair of opposed aperture-edge defining members in the same plane.

Abstract: The carrier has two spaced clips attached to a rear wall thereof. Each clip includes a downwardly extending tapered finger. The system includes two receiving elements, centrally mounted on the handle bar, each receiving element receiving a respective one of the downwardly extending fingers. A bar spaces the receiving elements on the handle bar such that the spacing between the receiving elements corresponds with the spacing between the downwardly extending fingers. The receiving elements are removably affixed at either end of the bar.

Abstract: A transfer device for books, inner books, newspapers, stacks or papers or similar products that are fed to a distribution point in a product stream on a high speed conveyor which includes a rotationally driven accelerator/decelerator. The speed of the accelerator/decelerator is controlled in such a manner that the product to be distributed is first accelerated to separate it from the next succeeding product in the product stream and the product is then controllably slowed so that it may be stopped at the distribution point without damage.

Abstract: The particle separation and collection system for a circulating fluidized bed combustion system is incorporated inside of the combustor. One or more particle collecting cells are formed along one of the waterwalls of the combustor with the walls of the cells also being water cooled. The cells may contain heat exchange surface and means are provided at the bottom of each cell to control the flow of particles from the cells back into the combustor.

Abstract: A combustion subsystem with a circulating fluid bed boiler (12) having a pantleg configuration. The boiler includes front (22) and back (24) walls with external fluid bed heat exchangers (48) integral therewith. In addition to the conventional fuel inlets (54) which provide for entry of fuel into the side walls of the boiler through conduits connected to the seal pots (36) of solids recycle cyclones (30), supplemental fuel inlets (63, 66, 70, 72) are provided on the front and back wails of the boiler through the fluid bed heat exchangers or between adjacent fluid bed heat exchangers. The invention improves combustion efficiency in large boilers by reducing the theoretical mixing length within the boiler.

Abstract: This invention provides a method of forming a circuit wiring pattern which cannot be formed by a prior art method such as etching or plating. This method comprises a step of forming trenches for forming a circuit wiring pattern at predetermined positions on at least one of the surface of an insulating base material and then filling a conductive material into the trenches, a step of removing conductor layers in such a manner that the conductor layers formed by the step described above exist only in the trenches formed in the insulating base material and gap portions of the circuit wiring pattern comprising the conductor layers formed in the trenches of the insulating base material are exposed, and a step of forming an insulating surface protection layer.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting hot spots in a rotary regenerative air preheater which compensates for normal variations in the temperature of the incoming hot gas stream or incoming cold air stream. Alarm conditions are based on calculations relating to the average and maximum outlet gas or outlet air over a period of time compared to the air and gas inlet temperature. The alarm is triggered if the maximum values deviate from the time averaged values more than a selected percentage.

Abstract: In the elemental analysis of an analyte present in a sample by optical or mass spectrometry, a nebulizer sprays the liquid sample into a chamber which has a wall transparent to infra-red radiation. Infra-red radiation from a heater external to the chamber is focused on to the droplets of sample as they emerge from the nebulizer, disrupting the droplets into smaller ones and evaporating solvent from them as they pass through the chamber. The thus desolvated sample stream is delivered into a plasma and the reaction accuracy within the plasma is qualified by the spectrometer.

Abstract: An appliance for clamping a strap round an article has a tensioning member, it being necessary for the tension which is to be transmitted to the strap by the tensioning member to be limited to a predetermined value. This is achieved by the fact that the tensioning member (4) is designed to slip past on the strap (2,6) to be tensioned when the predetermined strap tension is reached. The tensioning member can be provided with projections penetrating into the strap surface, which projections are designed so as to remove chips or displace material during the slipping past. Advantageously the tensioning member comprises a tensioning roller.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in the context of a rotating conveying screw situated within a cylindrical housing which has an inlet port on one end of the cylinder and a discharge opening on the other end of the cylinder. A resistance plate is mounted transversely to the conveying screw near the discharge opening for corotation with the screw. The plate is mounted to define a discharge gap between the opening and the plate. A sleeve on the housing is employed to adjust the size of the gap between the plate and the opening. The resistance plate can be a flat disc, conical, or other shape, so long as it is effectively attached to and rotates with the screw. The helical screw is preferably supported at both ends by a bearing means. Breaker bars are mounted on the transverse plate and extend over the gap between the discharge opening and the plate. Breaker bars may also be mounted to the cylindrical sleeve and extend over the gap between the sleeve and the plate.

Abstract: A hammermill (10) comprises a casing (12) having a longitudinal axis (18) and a sidewall (20) such that an enclosed grinding space (24) is defined within the casing. A rotor assembly (26) is situated within the casing for rotation about the axis, and includes hammer elements each having a radially outer tip (34) which defines a hammer rotation diameter. At least one grinding plate at the inside of the sidewall defines a grinding surface (38) in the grinding space having a radius of curvature centered on the axis, a length dimension parallel to the axis, and a width dimension defined by an arc about the axis. The grinding plate has a plurality of spaced apart edges such that each hammer tip (34) passes along the width dimension of the grinding plate with a clearance from the edges which defines a grinding gap. The sidewall other than at the grinding plate has a non-uniform curvature which defines a non-uniform clearance from the hammer rotation diameter that is greater than the grinding gap clearance.

Abstract: An IC-mounting flexible circuit board and the process of producing the same in which the process comprises the steps of forming bump protrusions passing through a flexible circuit board to be electrically conductive with a circuit wiring pattern in such a way that the bump protrusions are allowed to protrude from the back surface of the flexible circuit board, and arranging to have the surface of each bump protrusion coated with junction metal in accordance with the structure of the protrusion, so that a bare IC chip is simply bonded to the bump protrusions of the flexible circuit board by means of heat fusion or ultrasonic bonding.An excimer laser means is preferably used for boring small holes in an insulating base to form bump protrusions, i.e., IC pad junction protrusions on the flexible circuit board. Such an IC pad junction protrusion is formed by a plating means such as soldering or the filling of a conductive member.