Abstract: An operable wall system having a primary track and several storage tracks intersecting said primary track can be improved by the use of rotary switches at the intersections of the primary and storage tracks and by the use of a positioning structure carrying holders capable of being actuated so as to engage and disengage wall sections or panels being moved between said primary and said storage tracks. When such an operative wall structure is employed to move a wall section or panel on to the primary track from the storage tracks the panel to be moved is engaged by the holders and then these holders are moved through the movement of the positioning structure so as to place the section or panel being moved on to the switches. The holders are then disengaged from the panel or section and the switches are manipulated so as to allow the panel to be moved along the primary track. In storing panels the reverse of this series of operations is employed.

Abstract: An enclosed conduit for use with cables, wires, lines and the like is preferably constructed using two separate extrusions which is formed of a self supporting resilient material. The first of these is a U-shaped base having side edges, the second is a cover adapted to overly the base between the side edges of the base, this cover having side edges. Coacting structures on the side edges of both the base and the cover permit the base and the cover to be snapped together or apart. An auxiliary retainer on the cover adjacent to the side edges of the cover are used to inhibit the inward deflection of the sides of the base when the cover is in place.

Abstract: The total organic carbon and oxygen in water may be reduced by adjusting the pH of the water to within the range of from about 4 to about 6.9 and then adding an excess of a reducing agent over the amount necessary to react with all of the organic carbon and oxygen present in the water. Preferably the water containing the reducing agent is passed over an adsorbent, absorbent activated carbon bed within a treatment unit the interior of which is anaerobic.

Abstract: An apparatus which minimizes the amount of oxygen needed to maintain a specific oxygen level in the blood of an individual can be constructed so as to use a transducer and other circuit components to obtain a first series of pulses or signals corresponding to the individual's breathing. A divider or counter processes the signals or pulses of the first series to create a second series of pulses or signals corresponding to periodic pulses or signals of the first series. The pulses or signals of the second series are used to periodically open a valve to deliver oxygen to the individual at about the start of the person's periodic breathing cycles.

Abstract: A fluid control valve capable of controlling both a hot and cold water supply for an appliance such as a washing machine or the like includes a handle which can be used to simultaneously turn on and turn off both the hot and cold water supply, or allows for independent operation of these same supply lines. The valve has a valve body having a central hollow bore extending through the valve body. Appropriate hot and cold water inlet and outlet nipples are attached to the valve body. A hot water control element fits within the hollow bore on one side of the valve with a cold water control element also fitting within the bore but on the opposite side of the valve. The control handle is located in the middle of the valve and is split, with one side connecting to the hot water control element and the other side connecting to the cold water control element. End caps are utilized to seal the end of the hollow bore so as to contain the control elements therein.

Abstract: A circuit board and component manipulation device includes a housing having a circuit board clamp located thereon for positioning a circuit board on the housing. Hot gas for soldering or desoldering operations can be directed to components on the circuit board from one or the other of both an upper gas duct and a lower gas duct, both of which are fed gas from a blower. Each of the ducts include an individual heater located therein so as to control heat input to the gas passing through the ducts. The upper duct terminates in a discharge head which includes a nozzle attached thereto. The nozzle includes an appropriate opening so as to receive a circuit component. The opening is surrounded by a skirt with the gas ducts then positioned outwardly from the skirt. By positioning the component within the skirt, the component is isolated from hot gas utilized for soldering or desoldering of the connectors of the component to an appropriate circuit board.

Abstract: An apparatus for use in oxygen therapy can be constructed so as to include a gas holder appearing more or less as a pendant which includes a variable volume internal chamber and so as to use a line for continuously delivering oxygen to the holder and a conduit for conveying gas between a person using the apparatus and the holder. During use on exhalation the initially exhaled gas will flow through cannula carried by the conduit and the conduit into the holder so as to expand the variable volume chamber. When it is filled the remaining expired gas will be vented to the ambient. As the holder is filled the expired gas within it will be mixed with a limited amount of oxygen and thereafter during exhalation the oxygen supply will displace the expired gas in the conduit so that it flows outwardly from the cannula to be picked up by the expired air being vented to the ambient.

Abstract: An operable wall system which is especially desirable for use with large and/or heavy wall panels can be constructed so that each panel in the system is supported from a track structure by two separate trolleys. The track structure includes a terminal section having two parallel end sections joined to the main portion of the track structure through a junction. This junction is provided with cams which cooperate with differently oriented flange wheels on successive trolleys so that the panels can be moved between a position in which they are aligned with one another beneath the main portion of the track structure and a position in which they are suspended from the end sections and are located in side by side relationship.

Abstract: A seat structure capable of being manipulated between a normal seat or chair position and a bed position can be formed so that the seat bottom and the seat back are used along with a base of the seat structure as parts of a five-bar linkage system. A structure is provided on the base and on the seat bottom for controlling the movement of the seat bottom and the other parts connected to it in this linkage system as the seat bottom is moved between the seat and bed configurations. Interlocks are provided between the base and the seat bottom for preventing up or down movement of the back of the seat and the seat back when the seat structure is in the seat configuration.

Abstract: A container can be detachably secured to a holder carried by a belt through the use of coacting structures on the container and the holder which serve to prevent movement of the container away from the holder until an appropriate portion of the holder is manipulated so as to release the container. This combination of a holder and container can be effectively utilized to hold valuables during athletic pursuits or other underwater activities.

Abstract: Sericitic clays can be treated so as to produce silica gel and an adsorbent, absorbent product capable of being utilized in many different applications. In treating such clays to produce such products, finely ground clay particles are digested with an alkali so as to produce an alkali silicate solution which is separated from the remaining inorganic material. The latter is digested with an acid so as to remove alumina values. The particles remaining should then be washed and dried prior to being used as an adsorbent, absorbent material. The alkali silicate solution is preferably subjected to electrolysis to bleach contaminants within the solution and then treated with an acid so as to gel the silicate. After the gel is formed, the gel and the solution are neutralized. The gel is then separated and dried.

Abstract: A washing machine outlet box of the type capable of fitting within a wall and attaching to wall studs within this wall is improved by incorporating during the manufacture of said washing machine outlet box a disc as an integral part of the bottom wall, with the disc located over the future drain opening. The disc is attached to the bottom wall by a breakable or severable ring. After installation of the washing machine outlet box to an appropriate drain pipe, the disc serves as a plug for pressure testing of the drain pipe and further serves as a dam to prevent introduction of foreign material into the drain pipe during construction stages of the wall and the like. Upon completion of pressure testing and after completion of construction, a tab attaching to the disc is lifted upwardly so as to sever the ring attaching the disc to the wall to free the disc to form the drain opening in the bottom wall of the washing machine outlet box.

Abstract: An electrical solder pot has a base with a hollow interior. A housing member also having a hollow interior attaches to the top of the base. The housing member further includes an opening at its top. A threaded socket is fitted in the base so as to accept a heating element which is oriented vertically within the hollow interior of the combined base and housing member. The heating element includes a threaded connector positioned near the opening in the top of the housing and accepts a threaded solder container. The solder container attaches to the top of the heating element and is positioned above the opening in the housing. The heating element includes an internal thermal conducting member located within a tube with an appropriate socket connector on the tube so as to connect to the socket in the base. A monolithic burnt ceramic heater is positioned within a cavity in the thermal conducting member.

Abstract: A dental pantograph capable of measuring mandibulary movement includes right and left side housings have orthogonally located X, Y and Z scales. The housing further includes X, Y and Z scale transducers for reading reference marks on the respective scales. The scales are slidable with respect to the transducers. The housings are located adjacent to engagement members with one of the housing or the engagement member associated with the mandible and the other associated with the maxilla. The scales extend between the housing and the engagement member and move with respect to the transducers in the housing by movement between the housing and the engagement member. The transducers produce electrical output signals which are fed to an appropriate signal processor, such as a microprocessor, for producing a readout indicating the mandibulary movement.

Abstract: A speaker unit utilizing the sound radiation from the front and rear faces of a diaphragm can be constructed by placing the diaphragm in an acoustic baffle to isolate the back side and front side radiation and propogating the backside radiation through a tube to an acoustic resonator. This arrangement acoustically backloads the speaker and extends the frequency range over which piston-like motion of the diaphragm occurs without speaker breakup. A loudspeaker system producing good stereo image perception and suited for stereo sound reproduction for home or studio sound monitoring use can be constructed with a linear array of loudspeaker units. The sound radiation from the linear array is kept in phase over the audible range and through a wide angle about the axis of the array.

Abstract: A set of platens locatable as for instance on a die shoe and a slide die each contain a recess sized and shaped so as to partially receive one die of a set of dies. The platens further contain a wall which extends between the outer periphery of the platen and the recess with a hole extending through the wall and opening into the recess. The dies have a corresponding hole positioned in the dies so as to align with the holes in the walls when the dies are appropriately located in the recesses in the respective platens. A fastener has a shank with a handle having cam surfaces thereon located on one end of the shank and a flared head on the other end of the shank. A sleeve having a tapered tip fits on the shank between the cam and the tapered head with an expandable bushing then positioned between the sleeve and the head. Movement of the sleeve toward the head expands the bushing so as to lock the fastener in the aligned holes between the walls and the dies.