Abstract: The invention comprises functional and esthetically pleasing modular office furniture with integrated wire management. The modules include horizontal beam modules that can be rigidly connected longitudinally and laterally in configurations that suit work flow and office personnel requirements to the office space. The beam modules are supported by vertical support modules. Work surface modules are supported by the beam modules. The beam modules may also have suspended therefrom a variety of office items such as file cabinets and keyboard surfaces. The work surface modules are adapted to optionally receive service modules such as telephones, trays, and light stands. The combined furniture modules provide hidden but accessible passages for neatly and efficiently running electrical wires from the office outlets to the points of use.

Abstract: A multiple channel parallel transfer digital disk recorder is used to record digitized circular video images at the video frame rate. The digital pixel values for each image frame are written onto successive pages of a disk buffer memory (DBM) under video frame timing and are read from memory and written on disk under disk timing. When the last page image of the DBM is reached readout is switched back to the first page which is now filled with a frame of image data. Reading image data from disk and writing into successive pages of the DBM is done similarly. Only DBM locations containing pixels representative of actual image data within the circular boundaries of the image are addressed when reading from DBM and writing on disk and when reading from disk and writing onto DBM. Adjacent pixels in the image having predetermined bit lengths are written on disk with their bits in series.

Abstract: Containers such as bottles, which are to be filled with liquid from a tank pressurized with non-oxidizing gas, are coupled to a filling device and evacuated of air that is discharged to the atmosphere. Next gas from the tank is fed to the bottles. When gas pressure in the tank and bottle equalize, the liquid flows by gravity into the bottle to displace the gas and return it to the tank. After filling with liquid is cut off a charge of pure non-oxidizing gas is injected in the bottle to fill it to the top with pure gas. Excess pure gas is fed back into the tank to make up for the dilution of the gas that results from the evacuation of air from the bottles being necessarily imperfect. The bottles are uncoupled from the device after they are filled with pure gas and they are then sealed.

Abstract: In a bottle inspection machine a cylindrical hollow shaft is driven rotationally about a vertical axis. Another shaft is splined in the tubular shaft for rotation therewith. Another rotor is mounted coaxially to the inner shaft and the two rotors constitute a means for transporting bottles in a circular path. A light source is mounted on the radially outer side of the circular path and projects beams generally radially inwardly through one or more bottles at a time. The bottles carried on the rotors do not fill a complete circle, thus leaving an open side on the rotor. A detector or scanning device is located on the side of the center shaft facing the area which is free of bottles. The scanning device has photodetectors or imaging elements that intercept the images of the bottles side walls which may be modulated by flaws or contaminants in the bottles.

Abstract: Stretched elastic strands and a continuous sheet are fed concurrently toward a diaper assembly station on the way to which quick setting adhesive is applied periodically to zones in one and slower setting adhesive is applied alternately periodically zones in the other. Diapers assembled as a continuous web at the station are ultimately severed at which time the quick setting adhesive zones are set already and impart elasticity to the crotch region of the diapers. The zones on the strands that are tentatively adhered to the sheet with slow setting adhesive contract gradually into the diaper along the straight adhesive lines and then they set.

Abstract: A fish strike detector has an arm that is mounted to an electrical actuator switch. A fishing line is looped over the arm. A slight increase in the force in the line is sufficient to displace the arm and thereby actuate the switch to close an electrical circuit. The circuit includes visual and audio indicators that signal a fisherman of the strike on his line. The electrical circuit is enclosed in a case that is releaseably connected to a location most suitable for the application. The toggle of the actuator switch is adapted to removeably mount a variety of interchangeable actuator arms. The present invention is suitable for use with ice fishing tip-ups. In that application, the tip-up mast the actuator arm are connected by tubes placed over the free ends of the mast and arm; the tubes are joined by a flexible string. Releasing the mast by a strike tightens the string to displace the actuator arm.

Abstract: A case packer for loading open side cases and trays with generally upright articles includes apparatus for controlling the location of the case flaps during the loading operation. A pair of doors is interposed in the path of the articles being loaded. The articles contact the doors, which swing open to push the side flaps out of the way. A plow-like strip is employed to control the location of the case bottom flap. The case blanks are stored in generally vertical stacks in an open-bottom hopper. The blanks are folded and supported so that pulling the lowest blank downwardly partially unfolds the blank before it is deposited onto a conveyor. The conveyor completes the unfolding process while transporting the case to the article loading station.

Abstract: An improved blade for cutting and stripping insulation from insulated electrical conductors has a cutting edge with a circular cross-section when viewed in the direction parallel to the axis of the insulated conductor to be stripped instead of the elliptical cutting edge of conventional blades. The blade is manufactured by feeding a manufacturing tool through a blank so as to generate a curved surface having a longitudinal axis connecting the blank faces at an angle thereto. The curved surface has an elliptical contour when viewed along the axis.

Abstract: A cone and an integral cylinder projecting coaxially from the base of the cone. A sleeve is slidable onto the cylinder and detents latch the sleeve on the cylinder. An elastic ring which is for contracting on the penis to maintain an erection, is expanded by sliding it over the cone until it slips onto the sleeve. The sleeve is unlatched by twisting it to depress the detents and is slipped off of the cylinder with the elastic ring on it. The sleeve with the ring on it is slipped to the base of the penis and the ring to slid off for contracting.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a container package assembly employing upper and lower trays with a shallow depth which are positioned on the ends of the container and secured in assembly about the containers with cross strapping. When used with P.E.T. bottles, the upper tray is shorter and narrower than the lower tray and is engaged about the neck flanges of the P.E.T. bottles which positively position the upper tray with respect to the lower tray. This assembly provides a low cost efficient package for shipping and handling and displays the container label.

Abstract: Oblong pads are fed horizontally on an input conveyor with their long axes pointed in the direction of movement. A support plate on a rotationally driven shaft carries several equiangularly spaced swinging levers having a long arm on one side of the swing axis and a short arm on the other. Followers on the short arms engage a stationary cam whose profile surrounds the shaft. As the levers revolve, the cam positions them so they meet incoming oblong pads squarely and sweep them around so their minor axes are pointed in the direction of movement as they drop onto an output conveyor which moves them in parallelism with the line of the input conveyor.

Abstract: For edge enhancement of a digitized fluorographic image, the original image is stored in a full frame memory. When each video vertical blanking pulse occurs time delays are initiated corresponding to shifting whole lines of pixels successively to the left and right and up and down by integral numbers before the pixels are read out of memory. As the pixels are read out for each vertical blanking cycle, they are multiplied by a coefficient related to the pixel shift number and the result is added to to image data from preceding cycles that are summed and stored in a second memory and the new result is returned to the second memory. The final result is an edge map in the second memory constituting digital values corresponding to the frequency components at edges. These are added to corresponding pixels in the original image, resulting in higher and sharper edges in a final digital image. The image is then converted to analog video signals to permit display on a video monitor.

Abstract: Methods for applying elastic bands to webs to form diapers includes extruding a thermoplastic rubber onto the web with the rubber self bonding or being secured by adhesive. The extruder head is movable to form elastic with a varying cross-section and to provide non-linear deposition patterns to provide a diaper with a close comfortable fit.

Abstract: An anti-tip device is useful for preventing a mobile storage system movable carriage from tipping. The anti-tip device includes an arm pivotable between inoperative and operative modes. In the inoperative mode, the arm hangs in an open position to permit the carriage to be placed on the system rails. With the carriage on the rails, the arm is pivotable to the operative mode wherein a hook on the arm slidingly engages an undercut surface of a longitudinal groove in the rail. The arm is pinned to the carriage when in the operative mode. A tipping force is resisted by contact between the pinned arm hook and the rail undercut surface.

Abstract: A mobile storage system includes a safety brake for smoothly stopping a moving carriage. The brake is operated from readily assessible positions in the aisles between carriages, thus minimizing the risk of injury to persons in the aisles if another person starts a carriage. The brake includes a notched plate which normally rotates with a carriage axle. Upon actuation of a safety switch, a toothed lever mounted to the carriage frame engages the plate, thereby preventing it from rotating. Friction discs on either side of the plate dissipate the carriage kinetic energy into heat and thereby stop the carriage. The control circuit includes a timer so that the person may safely leave the aisle before the carriage can again be moved.

Abstract: A mobile storage system includes an anti-roll safety brake for preventing undesired rolling of a movable carriage. The anti-roll brake is engaged continuously so that a portion of the power required to move a carriage is expended in overcoming the friction force of the brake. Upon removal of the power source, such as de-energizing an electric drive motor, the anti-roll brake prevents all unpowered rolling of the carriage, and it continues to hold the carriage in place until the drive motor is again energized. The anti-roll brake is particularly useful in mobile storage systems in which the guide rails cannot be installed in a level attitude.

Abstract: In cases where the reference signal pulses supplied to one input of the phase detector of a phase-locked loop (PLL) may shift in phase significantly, the PLL may not be able to lock-in quickly enough to the apparent input pulse frequency change. In video monitor circuits where digital counters are clocked by the output frequency of the PLL, for example, the momentary loss of synchronism can cause horizontal scanning of the monitor screen to start too early or too late. A circuit is provided that lets the PLL make normal phase and frequency adjustments during a predetermined period during which counter reset is disabled. The circuit provides a window before and after this period during which counter reset is enabled. A reference pulse with a substantial phase error falls within the window. If three conditions are met, namely, the Reset Enable window exists, the reference pulse occurred within the window and the scan is near the bottom of the monitor screen, then a counter reset to zero signal is produced.

Abstract: Digital pixel values for each image frame are written onto pages of a disk buffer memory (DBM) under video frame timing and are read from memory and written on disk under disk timing. When the last page of the DBM is reached, readout is switched back to the first page. Only DBM locations for pixels within the circular boundaries of the image are addressed during reading and writing. Groups of adjacent pixels are written simultaneously on the several disks under control of clocks that are derived from disk. A circuit corrects for skew resulting from asynchronism between the disks. A converter converts serially recorded pixels of any bit length to parallel bits of the same number as before they were serialized. The commands for the disk drive are put in registers for one disk index pulse and they are ready for execution when the next index pulse occurs.