Abstract: An optical sensor that includes a light source and a detector is located within a cavity in a polishing pad so as to face the surface that is being polished. Light from the light source is reflected from the surface being polished and the reflected light is detected by the detector. The electrical signal produced by the detector is conducted to a hub located at the central aperture of the polishing pad. The disposable polishing pad is removably connected, both mechanically and electrically to the hub. The hub contains electronic circuitry that is concerned with supplying power to the optical sensor and with transmitting the electrical signal to a non-rotating station. Several techniques are described for accomplishing these tasks. The system permits continuous monitoring of an optical characteristic of a surface that is being polished, even while the polishing machine is in operation, and permits the end point of the polishing process to be determined.

Abstract: The System includes an Alarm Unit and a separate Alert Unit. The Alarm Unit is securely affixed to the parcel before the parcel is left at the delivery site, and the Alert Unit is placed at a secure site that is within radio range of the delivery site. The Alarm Unit is armed by the deliveryman upon depositing the parcel at the delivery site, and arming of the Alarm Unit results in the transmission of messages verifying to the seller or delivery agent that delivery has taken place and notifying the purchaser or intended recipient that the parcel has arrived. Movement of the parcel after it has been deposited at the delivery site and has been armed results in messages being transmitted to the shipping agent and to the intended recipient announcing that the parcel has been stolen. Such unauthorized movement of the parcel also activates a very loud audible alarm affixed to the parcel and activates a tracking beacon in or on the parcel, permitting the whereabouts of the parcel to be determined or tracked.

Abstract: Rigid left and right side members extend vertically along the user's left and right sides. A girdle that encircles the user is suspended on adjustable straps from the upper ends of the rigid left and right side members. The adjustable straps on opposite sides of the girdle each have a first end permanently affixed to the inside surface of the girdle. The straps extend upward along the user's sides and pass through slots located near the tops of the rigid left and right side members. The straps then extend downwardly to second ends that are removably attached to the outside of the girdle at opposite sides by a hook-and loop fastener. In the front-to-rear direction, the rigid left and right side members coincide with the center of gravity of the lifted weight to avoid pitching moments. The straps by which the girdle is suspended are readily adjustable, thereby promoting the comfort of the user.

Abstract: A device that can be attached to the plunger of a sucker rod pump to extend the operational life of the pump when it is used for producing oil having a high sand content wipes sand from the wall of the barrel in which the plunger reciprocates and re-routes the sand into the stream of oil that flows through the plunger on its downstroke. At the same time, the device applies a torque to the plunger causing it to rotate on the downstroke, thereby distributing wear more uniformly around the cylindrical outer surface of the plunger and the inside surface of the barrel. The device permits commercially available plungers to be used without modification for producing sand-laden oil.

Abstract: The rotor consists of two airfoils symmetrically disposed around an axis of rotation. Each airfoil consists of an outer vane having a leading edge and a trailing edge and an inner vane having a trailing edge and having a leading edge attached to the trailing edge of the outer vane. The outer vane has a radius R and extends not more than 90 degrees around the axis of rotation. The inner vane extends 180 degrees around an axis that is parallel to but displaced from the axis of rotation. The radius of the inner vane is a fraction, between 0.6 and 0.8, of the radius of the outer vane. Automatic limitation of the speed of rotation is achieved in one embodiment by letting centrifugal force deform the inner vanes so as to reduce the cross sectional area of the air flow path through the rotor.

Abstract: A first member is pivotally connected to a base for rotation about a first axis, and a second member is pivotally connected to the first member for rotation about a second axis. One end of a cable is attached to the base at a point spaced from the first axis, and the other end of the cable is attached to the second member at a point spaced from the second axis. The cable is slidingly engaged by a portion of the first member. As the first member is driven to rotate with respect to the base, the second member is forced to rotate with respect to the first member due to the inextensibility of the cable.

Abstract: An amplifier system for electrical or physical quantities such as voltage or sound converts the quantity in a transducer to a differential phase shift of a high carrier frequency which is an analog equivalent of the quantity and multiplies the differential phase shift by conversion to a low frequency and frequency doubling back to the carrier frequency in successive stages by means of digital logic circuits.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for producing accurate straight cuts in a slab of stone, concrete, or the like. A carriage conveys the cutter along two parallel rails that lie directly upon the upper surface of the slab to be cut. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, neither rail is connected to anything else, and a sheet of resilient material is bonded to the underside of each rail. A calibration instrument is disclosed, which is used to facilitate spacing the rails specific distances on either side of the desired cut line. Because the rails can be moved one at a time in the preferred embodiment, the apparatus is highly portable. In an alternative embodiment in which portability is not an important consideration, the rails may be permanently connected by rigid lateral members.

Abstract: A hand tool that greatly expedites installation of the valve locks that secure a valve spring retainer to the free end of a valve stem. The valve locks include an inwardly extending ridge that engages a circumferential groove that extends around an end portion of the valve stem. The valve lock is retained in this position by a tapered central bore of the valve spring retainer that produces an inward clamping force on the valve lock. The tool includes a plunger having a diameter equal to the diameter of the valve stem. The user positions the valve locks on the protruding cylindrical surface of the plunger, where they are held by magnetic attraction. The user pushes the end of the tool against the valve spring retainer, thereby compressing the valve spring so that the valve stem pushes the plunger into a close-fitting loader end cap until the valve locks are transferred to the valve stem and into engagement with the circumferential groove.

Abstract: A hand tool for holding a spinning disc while the circumference of the disc is being ground is noteworthy for its ability to accommodate disks of various thicknesses. The disc is gripped between two resilient grippers that rotate with the disc. The grippers are mounted for rotation to the jaws of the tool. The jaws slide open and closed on two spaced parallel guide pins that are parallel to the axes of rotation of the grippers. This assures that as the jaws are opened or closed to accommodate discs of different thicknesses, the axes of the grippers remain colinear.

Abstract: An improved fire detector is obtained by combining a conventional smoke particle sensor with a fire radicals odor sensor; the latter being an electronic nose tuned to respond to the presence of a family of radicals, produced by most fires, that is responsible for the odor associated with a fire. The conventional smoke particle sensor is prevented from producing an alarm signal unless the tuned electronic nose senses that the fire-produced radicals are increasing at a rate that exceeds a preset threshold rate. In another aspect of the invention, the smoke particle sensor is provided with a second, lower, threshold connected to a timer so that an alarm will be produced if the lower threshold is exceeded, without interruption, for a preset time. The improved fire detector, using the combined sensors, has greater sensitivity and a lower false alarm rate.

Abstract: A collapsible golf cart that is capable of carrying a fully-loaded golf bag includes an A-frame formed by telescoping members pivotally connected at their upper ends and having removable wheels at their lower ends. The cart includes a swinging V-shaped support stand that is attached at its upper ends to the telescoping frame members. The swinging lower end of the stand includes a spike extending downward from its front side and includes an auxiliary wheel at its rear side. When the cart is parked, the stand is in its rearmost position and the spike digs into the ground. When the cart is in motion, the stand is swung to a forward position in which the auxiliary wheel rolls on the ground. The spike also provides good electrical grounding for the cart. The cart also includes a telescoping lightning rod, the effectiveness of which is enhanced by the grounding provided by the spike.

Abstract: An organizer to which fish hooks of various sizes may be removably attached includes two parallel edges, each having a sequence of notches into which the fish hook is pushed in a forced fit. This results in the hooks being held securely so that they do not accidently come loose. Successive hooks are pushed into successive notches in the series of notches, with the result that the fish hooks are juxtaposed for ease of handling. In one embodiment each organizer is provided with male and female connecting elements, thereby permitting two such organizers to be joined to form a combined organizer of greater capacity. The organizer may be supplied in unassembled form enabling it to be packaged in the same envelopes that are used for packaging the fish hooks for sale. Alternatively, the organizer may be formed as a one-piece article.

Abstract: A collapsible luggage cart characterized by left and right telescoping members having top sections and bottom sections, the top sections being pivotally connected so that when the cart is extended for use the telescoping members provide an A-frame back for the cart, each bottom section having an axle on which a wheel is mounted, and each bottom section having a forwardly-extending arm pivotally connected to it, so that when the cart is to be collapsed, the arms are swung upwardly into the bottom sections, the telescoping members are then pivoted together until they are side by side, and finally the telescoping members are collapsed into the bottom sections, the exterior surfaces of which together then substantially enclose the collapsed cart.

Abstract: An improvement to a hopper to promote the flow of solid particulate material includes mounting one or more walls of the hopper for limited oscillatory motion in a direction parallel to the wall and perpendicular to the desired flow direction, and then providing an actuator connected to the remainder of the hopper to impart such motion to the wall. The relative motion between the moving wall and the particulate material effectively rotates the friction force to the direction of relative motion, leaving the friction in the desired flow direction approaching zero. As a result, downward flow can occur on walls that are only shallowly inclined. The improvement is applicable to hopper-like structures in railroad cars and ships, where it facilitates discharge onto moving conveyors.