Abstract: A unitary, light-weight, and readily installable shock absorbing device for use in conjunction with the seat of a bicycle provides a pair of interacting, open-ended housings which are held together in variable linear relationship by a pair of bolt-like fasteners. A plurality of coil springs are disposed internally of the housing and serve to separatably urge the housings in the direction of their maximally extended positions and a plurality of coil springs are also disposed exteriorly of the lower of the housings and serve to retard the abrupt separation of the housings caused by the internally disposed springs when the latter springs are compressed by the weight of a rider. The interaction of the open ends of the housings permit the internally disposed springs to contract and expand without transmitting or permitting forward or sidewise sway or shift to the seat of the bicycle.

Abstract: A portable and light-weight steak tenderizer for use in the home is provided with a rotatable cylinder along the curved surface of which are fixed a plurality of truncated triangular cutting blades arranged in rows normally oriented relative to the axis of rotation of the cylinder. The individual cutting blades that are arranged in alternating ones of these rows are perpendicularly oriented relative to the axis of rotation of the cylinder. The individual cutting blades that are arranged in the rows adjoining these alternating rows are acutely angled relative to the axis of rotation of the cylinder, with alternating rows of these adjoining rows having their truncated triangular cutting blades oppositely angled relative to the cutting blades of their alternately adjoining acutely angled rows.

Abstract: An aircraft comprised of a pair of spaced apart interconnected air-frame members and a cargo compartment supported therewithin is provided with a plurality of expansible airfoils mounted for peripheral movement around the air-frame members as driven by a motor and associated drive, movement of the airfoils along the frontmost perimeters of the air-frame members providing the aircraft with forward thrust, and movement thereof along the uppermost perimeters of the air-frame members accentuating the lift provided by the airfoils.

Abstract: A torque measuring device designed for convenient use intermediate a ratchet wrench and socket is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed compression springs that are so housed within the first of a pair of complementary plates as to yield to a rotational force applied in either direction, the compressible yield of one of the springs as the ratchet wrench is turned in a given direction producing a lag in the rotation of the second of the plates which is measured in terms of torque by means of a pointer and a calibrated scale, the convenient substitution of the springs with selected springs of varying tension permitting the wide range of torque measurement including measurement in foot pounds, inch pounds, and metric.

Abstract: An amplifying device operative to sense changes in the speed of an encoded card as it is being read so as to be able to adjust the reading rate to compensateably follow said changes. The amplifying device is also able to differentially peak sense pulses read thereby disallowing noise transients.

Abstract: An endorser for use in document processing apparatus is provided with a matrix wire printer for printing variable information on documents as they are transported at a controlled speed along a transport path forming part of an endorsing station, and with a rotatable ink stamp driven by a controlled speed motor for printing fixed information on the documents in predetermined relationship with the variable information. A rotatably mounted endorser head assembly comprised of a velocity control member and an interrupted curvilinear platen, in addition to the ink stamp, is drivably rotated by the controlled speed motor to initially intercept and decelerate a document entering the endorsing station, and to thereafter print the fixed and variable information on the document. Deceleration of the document is accomplished by the velocity control member of the endorser head assembly in cooperation with a first biased back-up roller.

Abstract: An internal combustion four cycle engine is provided with a plurality of stationarily mounted cylinders radially arranged in equal spaced apart relationship within the inner circumference of a rotatably mounted drive drum and in parallel relationship with the axis of rotation thereof, a movable track anchorably supported by a pair of oppositely disposed raised lobes fixed to the interior webbed surface of the drum and comprised of two pairs of declining slope track quadrants serving to receive the driving thrust of each piston during its power stroke and to activate each piston during its intake, compression and exhaust strokes, and a cam ring fixed to the inner circumference of the drive drum serving to activate an intake-exhaust slide of each cylinder commensurate with the requirements of its intake, compression, power and exhaust strokes.

Abstract: A serial printer is provided with a multi-position flexible membrane printing element with columns and rows of print characters disposed coplanarly in spaced apart relationship therein, the flexible printing element being differentially positionable along an X and a Y axis to bring selected print characters into printing alignment with an actuatable hammer, the differential positioning of the printing element being effectuated by a rotatable crank and quadrilateral linkage means in association with a pair of position sectors and a pair of spur gears coupled to the quadrilateral linkage, the pair of position sectors being variably positionable by a first and second plurality of actuatable sector limit stops.

Abstract: A modular and readily arrangeable raised floor structure for computer system sites is provided wherein the weight of the hardware units is supported by raised support members of rigid construction integrally formed with the hardware units and disposed on the permanent flooring in the site area, and the area between and surrounding the hardware units is rendered conveniently accessible to human attendants by modular raised floor panels of less rigid construction abuttably arranged relative to one another and to the raised support members of the hardware units, said raised support members integrally formed with the hardware units and said abuttably arranged raised floor panels serving to accommodate hidden interconnections of various types between the hardware units and to facilitate coupling of the system with external power and cooling sources.

Abstract: A reusable torque limiting device producing tactile feedback for a desired preset bolt tensile load comprises a body, provided with an internal bore threaded therethrough so as to be received over a threaded bolt or similar fastening element. One face of the body is provided with a recessed area therein and an angled counter-bore adjacent and concentric with the center thereof. One or more angular, beveled or concave members are disposed within a recess in the body with the concave portion suitably oriented relative to the recess. The work piece engaging face of the body is, or may be provided with, a roughened surface for example radial slots, notches, teeth or grooves so as to gall or abraid the confronting face of the work piece as the device achieves the predetermined bolt tensile load that is desired by allowing the torque rate increase to be easily sensed at which time the operator should stop turning the nut.

Abstract: A generator for producing droplets of liquid by subjecting a confined body of such liquid to varying pressures at a given frequency and causing such liquid to issue from a discharge orifice first as a continuous stream and thereafter to break up into a succession of separate droplets. A particular use of the generator is to produce a controlled stream of ink droplets for the purpose of forming printed characters on documents. It accomplishes this object by making use of acoustic and ultransonic vibrations in a body of ink contained in a cavity of tapering dimensions having an ink intake passage and a discharge orifice, and causing periodic variations (or varicosities) in the hydraulic pressure at the discharge orifice which in turn causes the issuing stream of ink to break up into uniformly spaced apart fine droplets of ink.

Abstract: A push-button switch including a keytop plunger, a base structure for retaining and guiding the keytop plunger, a biasing contact member, and flexible wire contacts. The biasing contact member is a leaf spring mounted in the base structure and actuated into a bowed position by depression of the keytop plunger. The flexible wire contacts are also mounted in the base structure and are engaged by the leaf spring when it is bowed. The complete structure is mounted on a printed circuit board with the leaf spring and wire contacts connected to their respective contact leads on the PC board.

Abstract: An ink jet printer has a printing head which contains at least one cavity with a discharge orifice therein for dispersing droplets of ink onto a medium for printing thereon. Means are disclosed herein for maintaining the temperature of the ink in the cavity at a preselected value prior to dispersement from the discharge orifice. Preferably, the ink is heated by an electrical heating rod mounted in the printing head adjacent to the cavity. Means are also provided for sensing the temperature of the ink in the cavity. The heating rod is selectively energized to maintain the ink at the preselected temperature by means of a feedback control circuit coupled with the sensing means.

Abstract: A lid providing access to an operating area of a document processor is provided with simplified mechanism for controlling the opening and closing of the lid, and for preventing its accidental closing when in a full or partially opened state, such mechanism requiring but minimal actuating force for opening and closing the lid, and additionally providing for the full and automatic closing of the lid when it is manually actuated to a position proximate its fully closed position.

Abstract: A pressure transducing apparatus which is responsive to the pressure which is exerted by an individual when he signs his signature for generating an A.C. electrical signal representative of the characteristic variations in pressure produced when an individual signs his signature for use in a signature identification or verification system. The pressure transducing platen includes a writing surface means which is positioned for receiving an individual's signature and has attached thereto a rod member having an upper non-magnetic portion rigidly attached to the bottom of said writing surface means and a lower magnetic portion which moves along a vertical axis in response to the pressure variations exerted on the writing surface. Three coils, each of which has a central hole therein, are positioned so that the magnetic portion of the rod resides within at least a portion of the central hole of each of the coils for vertical movement therein.

Abstract: A logic system for controlled energization of predetermined stepper motor phases for various optimal times employing a read only memory having a plurality of memory element arrays corresponding to predetermined stepper motor sequencing commands corresponding to all possible tilt position change attempts for a print head. The memory element arrays are addressed by a shift register which stores data representative of the previous print head tilt position and the destined print head tilt position as provided by a two bit latch. The addressed memory element array is sequenced by a counter incrementing the read only memory address provided by the shift register at various predetermined optimal time intervals provided by a timer which is preset by individual preset values stored in the memory element now being addressed.

Abstract: An improved switching regulator converts an unregulated DC voltage into a regulated DC output voltage and maintains regulation over the entire range from maximum load current through zero load current. The improved regulator employs a plurality of series switching paths connected between the unregulated DC input and a summing node at a filter capacitor output. Each series switching path includes a power switching element, a catch diode and a series inductor. The other end of the summing node is connected through a current limiting circuit to the DC regulated output, and at least a portion of the voltage at the summing node is fed to a voltage error amplifier and used to control the duty cycle of the series switching elements. Feedback from the current limiting circuit can override the voltage error amplifier control should the maximum current limit be exceeded.

Abstract: Disclosed is a document view station adjacent to a document guideway that will, upon being alerted to a misread document, ready itself to intercept the misread document. Once intercepted the misread document may be cammed out of the guideway to a position where it may be easily viewed, tactilibly manipulated, and optionally cammed back to its original location in the document stream for further processing. The document view station additionally has the ability to self-adjust its camming to the width of the document.

Abstract: An electric motor for rotatably driving a drum is stationarily disposed within the drum and provided with a pair of bearing surfaces eccentrically and oppositely disposed relative to the center of the motor shaft to which the bearing surfaces are coupled, each eccentric bearing surface supporting an externally toothed wheel having a predetermined number of peripheral teeth engageable with an output ring secured to the inner cylindrical surface of the drum, the output ring having a predetermined greater number of internal teeth than the predetermined number of external teeth of the toothed wheels.

Abstract: A tape handling cartridge is provided for receiving and transporting a double-ended coded tape containing stored machine-readable information past a tape reader forming part of a memory loader in a computer, an elongated section of the cartridge being insertable into the computer and into cooperable relationship with the reader and a power source associated therewith, drive means of the cartridge serving thereafter to feed the tape from a supply compartment of the cartridge into readable relationship with the reader and to rewind the tape on a take-up spool in the cartridge in helically coiled form suitable for subsequent re-entry and re-reading.