Abstract: A standard size mattress is formed with four longitudinally arranged regions, i.e., a head, an upper torso, a lower torso and a leg support region, for supporting a person comfortably and substantially level. The length of the head support region is equal to the approximate height of a person's head and neck. The length of the combined torso support regions is equal to the approximate height of a person's torso from the crotch to the juncture with the neck, with the upper torso region being roughly two-thirds and the lower torso region being roughly one-third of the length of the combined torso support regions. The length of the leg portion is equal to approximately the height of the legs from the crotch to the bottom of the feet. Thus, the lengths of the four regions are roughly in the ranges of 18%, 23%, 14% and 45%, respectively, of the length of a typical standard mattress.

Abstract: A sound enhancing device including a bridge pad of a cold flowable material fitted to support the full underside of a bridge foot on a stringed musical instrument is disclosed. The bridge pad is positioned between the feet of the bridge and the body portion of the musical instrument whereby the tension of the strings causes the pad to cold flow to conform to the contours of the body portion and the bottom of the bridge feet, whereby the string vibrations will be transmitted to the body portion of the stringed musical instrument with greater clarity, tone and richness of the sound of the musical instrument. The pads are pre-cut to fit directly between the bridge feet and the body portion of the instrument.

Abstract: A machine and method for continuously orienting and tapping fasteners such as pierce nuts with the nuts being advanced in face-to-face manner aligned on the machine feed path. The machine is operable in one mode, in combination with nut collection means, to receive strips of the nuts from the feed path in side-to-side array for delivery in installation-ready coiled strips to an installation assembly or the like. One embodiment of the collection means includes apparatus for collecting and dispensing the nuts in unconnected linear stacks. Tapping of the nuts is performed by the machine in a "reverse flow" or deferred manner just prior to the nuts being dispensed from the feed path with the tapped nuts maintained in face-to-face spaced array. The machine reverse flow tapping provides for burr clearance between the spaced nuts to thereby assure that tapping burrs will not improperly position the nuts obviating machine jamming and thread obstruction by such burrs.

Abstract: A self contained portable apparatus for the rapid warming and infusion of massive amounts of a parenteral fluid into a patient under conditions where time is of the essence. The apparatus comprises a portable cabinet, a parenteral fluid supply system, a fluid warming system, and apparatus monitoring and failure warning systems. The portable cabinet has a rectangular shaped enclosure which houses portions of the fluid supply and warming systems and the monitoring and failure warning systems. Extending upwardly from the top of the rectangular enclosure is a vertical support member which carries upper and lower horizontal crossmembers. The upper crossmember carries a plurality of disposable parenteral fluid bags and their respective pressure cuffs which surround the bags.

Abstract: In an output circuit for a signal transmission system to generate a bipolar output signal, a power output stage (62) is driven by a data signal and a transmitter release signal via an isolation stage (18) and a logic network (64). The power output stage comprises two complementary transistors whose bases are each separately driven from an output (50, 56) of the logic network (64) so that only one of the two transistors (54, 60) is switched to conducting in the presence of a transmitter release signal corresponding to the polarity of the output signal to be produced and so that both transistors (54, 60) are closed, independent of the data signal, in the absence of a transmitter release signal.

Abstract: A hypodermic device including a main body having a plurality of open sockets with a corresponding number of upstanding needles therein. In one embodiment, each upstanding needle is commonly interconnected to a main passage through the body. The ends of the upstanding needles are capped with resilient plugs which are displaced when one or more vacuum tubes are pressed onto the ends of the upstanding needles. In an alternative embodiment of the device, the upstanding needles are secured to movable plugs with each plug having a passage therein which is selectively movable into coaxial alignment with the main passage through the body. In yet another embodiment of the device, the sockets are spaced apart along the length of the main body with valves being connected to the main body in the spaces between the sockets. Each valve is slidably movable within a well formed within the body.

Abstract: A device useful for illuminating parts to be inspected includes an illumination device employing a plurality of bundles of optical fibers coupled with a light source. The device includes a housing having an optical lens in one end which has an outer surface that is convex about a single axis. A clamp assembly mounts the bundles on the opposite end of the housing, with the ends of the bundles extending through a rectangular opening in an end wall of the housing. An aperture plate between the lens and the ends of the bundles masks light from the bundles so that all of the light passing through the aperture plate falls on the lens, thereby partially collimating the light impinging on the inner face of the lens.

Abstract: A door guard for wedging an entry door into a closed position thereby preventing unauthorized, forced opening of the entry door. The door guard includes a base plate which rests on the floor area behind an entry door. A lower brace member is pivotally attached at one end to the base plate. An upper brace member is pivotally attached to the lower brace member with the upper brace member including a plastic coated yoke member which is placed under and partially around the doorknob of an entry door. A spring is positioned to coact between the upper and lower brace members to bias the brace members into an aligned relationship. The overall length of the door guard can be adjusted by connecting the upper brace member to the lower brace member at different openings along the lower brace member. After the upper and lower brace members are brought into an aligned relationship, a rectangular buckle lock is positioned to lock the members together.

Abstract: A permanent casting mold has its casting cavity coated with a sand liner of varying thickness. The liner is thicker where the cast article section is thinner and the liner is thinner where the cast article section is thicker so as to permit the thicker sections to cool faster while the thinner sections cool slower. The different thicknesses of the liner are correlated so that the respective sections of the article are sufficiently cooled at about the same time for removal of the article from the mold. The mold is a cope and drag-type flask mold whose casting cavity halves are oversized relative to the cast article. The sand liner is formed therein by temporarily positioning a pattern within the permanent casting cavity halves and sand filling the space between the pattern and cavity wall. The exterior surface of the pattern corresponds to the cast surface of the article.

Abstract: The seawall extends along and retainingly engages the ground and at its top extends above the ground level and at its bottom is projected and anchored down into the ground, below the water level. The seawall includes a series of laterally aligned elongated corrugated bulkhead strips made from a plastic material. Each strip has along one side an undercut grooved edge and along its other side a similarly shaped tongue edge, with the tongue and groove edges of adjacent bulkhead strips interlocked. The strips are of such lightweight that each strip may be lifted and assembled manually relative to an adjacent anchored strip and driven into the ground and into lateral alignment with an adjacent strip and a longitudinal interlock. A cap overlies and is secured upon a bulkhead strip. Spaced anchor strips are embedded into the ground and spaced from the seawall and connected to corresponding bulkhead strips by a series of tie rods and flexible walers.

Abstract: A container is formed of a rigid, flat base, a rigid cover, and four vertically arranged, flat wall forming panels that are connected together along their adjacent vertical edges by hinge-like corner connectors and whose upper and lower edges are removably held in corresponding grooves formed in the base and cover. The panels are made of plastic extruded into parallel, spaced apart rigid sheets that are interconnected by numerous, spaced apart, transverse strips whose opposite ends are integral with the sheets. Each corner has a flat, sheet-like base strip that is integrally formed with a flexible center and rigid opposite edge sections that extend along the length of the connector base. Each of the opposite edge sections has an integral T-shaped rib extending along its length. The ribs are inserted endwise into elongated vertical slots formed in the endmost strips of the adjacent panel edges for fastening the connectors to the panels.

Abstract: An inexpensive, disposable liner is shaped and dimensioned to conform to the hole spacings of a grid-like grating used as the floor of a paint spray booth. The liner shields the grating surfaces from airborne or spilled paint, while having holes to permit the necessary airflow through the grating. When the paint build-up on the liner significantly occludes the holes, the liner is removed and disposed of, and replaced by a clean one.

Abstract: An anti-theft device for automobile vehicles disables the vehicle's starter ignition system unless a coded resistive element is inserted into the device by the vehicle's operator. A control system senses the value of the coded resistive element and enables the starter system if the sensed value is correct. A latching circuit latches-in enablement of the starter system after an arming switch is activated and the resistive element has been removed, serving to provide a valet function. A lock-out circuit prevents enablement of the starter system for a prescribed time period following an unauthorized attempt at enabling the system, as when an incorrect resistive element is inserted into the device. The device employs a normally closed relay to enable the starter system so that failure of those portions of the device which are most likely to fail does not affect normal operation of the starter system.

Abstract: The heat exchanger, which forms a part of the fluid treatment apparatus of this invention, includes an insulated tubular having concentric telescopically nested spaced tubes, wherein the space between the tubes is sealed and filled with an inert gas. The surfaces of the tubes are coated with a hydrogen permeation barrier preferably comprising an aluminum-iron alloy, nickel or copper which limits atomic hydrogen permeation into the space between the tubes, which would combine to form hydrogen gas and result in heat loss. The insulated tubular is telescopically nested in a pipe, forming a fluid heat exchanger and the heat exchanger is telescopically nested in fluid waste circulation pipes, forming the fluid treatment apparatus of this invention. The preferred fluid heat exchanger is a vertically extending deep well reactor suitable for wet oxidation reaction of fluid wastes including municipal sludge.

Abstract: A women's shoe with flexible shank for use with replaceable heels of different height includes a sole with a forward support portion and a raised heel portion and an overlying insole. An elongated flexible spring steel shank is nested within a slot between the insole and sole and at one end anchored thereto. A high heel registers with the heel portion and interlocking fasteners upon the heel and heel portion upon limited rotation of the heel relative to the shoe removably anchors the heel upon the shoe. The heel upon limited angular rotation and disengagement of the fasteners is adapted for removal and replacement by a low heel having similar fasteners. The shank moves within the slot to compensate for the change in height. The interlocking fasteners include opposed interconnected lock segments and anchor flanges secured respectively to the heel and heel portion.

Abstract: A mounting system for plastic siding comprises an elongated nailing strip from which a siding panel is suspended by means of interlocking channels which permit longitudinal relative movement resulting from differential thermal expansion or contraction. A predetermined amount of horizontal overlap of adjacent panels is assured by the provision of a notch adjacent each end of the panel, which notch is intended to be vertically aligned with the end of the adjacent panel. The same notches provide a guide for centering the nailing strip on its associated panel. Unintended disassembly of each strip-panel pair is presented by dimple-like deformations near the end of each strip cahnnel, which function to limit the longitudinal travel of the associated panel channel therein.

Abstract: A precast panel for a building comprises a pair of molded concrete inner and outer panel elements with a steel wire mesh embedded throughout each panel element. A series of laterally spaced continuous steel rod trusses are interposed between and extend at right angles to the panel elements with end portions of the trusses embedded into the panel elements. An insulating layer overlies and is bonded to the interior side of the outer panel element occupying part of the space between the panel elements, the remainder of the space providing an air barrier zone. Pairs of aligned panels and right angularly related corner panels are interconnected by a concrete column poured in situ between the adjacent panels.

Abstract: A frame assembly for mounting a sunroof panel in the roof of a vehicle includes top and bottom frame portions respectively disposed above and below the roof and which secured together with the roof tightly sandwiched therebetween. The bottom frame portion includes a lateral channel-like extension for supporting a weatherstrip which engages and supports the sunroof panel. The top and bottom frame portions include a first set of opposing flanges between which the vehicle's roof is tightly sandwiched and a second set of opposing flanges between which a portion of the weatherstrip is trapped, thereby mounting the weatherstrip on the frame and creating a positive seal around the entire perimeter of the frame which prevents moisture from entering the vehicle between the weatherstrip and the frame. The frame portions are drawn together against the roof by screws extending through the bottom frame portion into a continuous rib in the top frame portion which is received within a channel in the bottom frame portion.

Abstract: A spoon type fishing lure includes a body of fish shape lying in a first plane and having front and rear surfaces, and a barbed hook in a right angular plane, including a shank bearing against the rear surface, at one end secured thereto and intermediate its ends extending through one end of the body and terminating a reverse turned barb spaced from the rear surface. A weed deflector bar at one end is secured to the forward end of a lure body upon its rear surface with its other end aligned with and spaced from the barb. A peripheral flange on the body extends outwardly of the front surface and receives a paper strip which has a fish imprint thereon and is adhesively mounted upon lure body. A protective layer of transparent plastic material overlies the strip and extends to the flange. In a modified lure, the hook shank is retainingly nested in an elongated groove in the lure body and secured thereto.