Abstract: A key-operated ignition lock has a housing configured to protectively shield an electrical switch. An operating knob has a tubular body that extends through a first passage defined by the housing, and is rotable therein between a plurality of angular positions including on “off” position. The tubular body defines a second passage wherein elements including a key-receiving plug of a lock mechanism are journaled for rotation between “locked” and “unlocked” positions. Alignable bores formed 1) in the tubular body, 2) in a locking plate that surrounds the tubular body, 3) in the plug, and 4) in a barrel that surrounds the plug support an end-to-end arrangement of pins that permit a suitably configured key to be inserted into the plug only when the knob is in its “off” position, and to permit the knob to be rotated out of its “off” position only when the key is removed from the plug.

Abstract: Chimney-like cooling passages that have opposite outlet and inlet end regions open to ambient air also have central regions that extend through heated components of industrial furnaces. The passages preferably are defined by conduits that are oriented and configured in a manner that enables thermally induced flows of ambient air to self establish through the conduits to cool the furnace components once the furnace components become heated. The passages function like chimneys, with each having its outlet located higher than its inlet so that ambient air will effectively rise as it flows from the inlet to the outlet. The passages may provide increases in cross-sectional area somewhere along their lengths so that heated ambient air expanding in the passages is encouraged to discharge from the less restrictive, larger area outlets rather than from the smaller area inlets.

Abstract: A cable system for raising and lowering a door of an industrial furnace utilizes a pair of vertically extending cables having lower ends connected to the door and upper ends connected to shaft-carried sheaves that are rotated concurrently to cause upper portions of the cables to be wound onto and off of the sheaves to raise and lower the furnace door to open and close a furnace opening defined in a vertical furnace face. The cables wind onto and off of sheave-defined tracks that are configured to cause lower portions of the cables to move the door a small distance horizontally during raising and lowering. This small distance horizontal movement capability may be utilized at the initiation of door raising to move the door away from the furnace face, and at the conclusion of door lowering to close the door against the furnace face to close the furnace opening.

Abstract: A pair of stackable, nestable blocks for elevating the leg of a bed to a plurality of selectable heights employs first and second blocks that each have upper and lower ends, with recesses being provided in at least one of the ends of each block that can be oriented upwardly to receive and support the foot or lower end region of a bed leg. Each block has a different length, which enables each block, used separately, to support the bed leg at a different height. Recesses of differing depths preferably are provided in opposite ends of at least one of the blocks, whereby the block or blocks that have dual-depth recesses can be inverted to provide bed leg support at two different heights. One of the two blocks preferably has a larger size than the other and is provided with recess(es) large enough to receive and support one or both of the end regions of the other of the blocks, whereby the smaller-size block can be stacked and nested atop the larger-size block to provide still more bed leg elevation heights.

Abstract: A combination drink and spray sports bottle defines a nested arrangement of inner and outer containers that provides a nested set of segregated inner and outer chambers for containing separate quantities of liquid, with a drinking straw being provided for withdrawing drinking liquid from the outer chamber, and with a manually operated spray device being provided for withdrawing spraying liquid from the inner chamber. The outer container has an upstanding body that defines a relatively large neck opening near its upper end, through which the upstanding body of the inner container is insertable. A large cap closes the large neck opening of outer container. A central opening and an off-center opening are formed through the large cap. The straw extends through the off-center opening of the large cap and has a lower end region for depending into a quantity of drinking liquid carried in the outer chamber.

Abstract: An electrical receptacle includes a housing that is defined by identical nonconductive housing halves which are held in side-by-side assembled relationship by a metal mounting bracket. The mounting bracket carries a ground wire connection screw that extends through a rear wall of the housing and threads into a threaded rear end region of a metal post which extends centrally through the housing to provide a threaded front end region configured to receive a cover plate mounting screw. Two nonconductive rotors are journaled by the housing for independent rotation between "off" positions and various "on" orientations for selectively supplying electrical energy to sets of female contacts that are carried by the rotors. A leaf spring is carried within the hollow interior of the housing for engaging detent formations of the rotors for releasably retaining the rotors in "off" and "on" orientations.