Abstract: A service mechanism for a shipboard missile vertical launch system has a base assembly which rides on a set of parallel tracks spanning a missile housing array. A carriage assembly is mounted for movement along the base assembly in a direction normal to the tracks. A portion of the carriage assembly is disposed for 360.degree. rotation about a vertical axis. A cradle elevator is mounted for movement on vertically running tracks on the rotatable portion of the carriage assembly. A cradle is adapted to engage and hold a missile cannister and is rotatably mounted on the cradle elevator to dispose the missile cannister with its long axis in either a vertical or a horizontal position. The cradle includes a hoist pawl which is adapted to engage one end of the missile cannister to raise or lower the cannister in the cradle when the long axis is disposed vertically.

Abstract: A key that is in operative engagement between a keyway in a vertical shaft and a keyway in a driven member, such as the hub of a sprocket, is bent at its lower end to prevent the drive member from sliding downwardly out of engagement with the key.

Abstract: A wheel clamp for supporting a wheel aligning device in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the wheel is disclosed. The wheel clamp includes a frame and a lower bracket attached to one end of the frame, said lower bracket having a support shaft projecting therefrom for supporting the wheel aligning device. An upper bracket slides on the frame in order to adjust the wheel clamp for wheels of different diameter. A set of levels attached to the lower bracket indicates when the clamp, together with the wheel, lies at a first orientation and also when the clamp has been rotated through 90.degree. and 180.degree.. The wheel clamps will frequently be used in pairs with left-hand and right-hand clamps being provided. The levels on each clamp of the pair are oriented so that each wheel clamp may be rotated to a predetermined position so that the wheel aligning tools on each wheel clamp are at the same elevation.

Abstract: A tire changing apparatus is provided in which a lower bead-breaking shoe is pivotally mounted on a lever arm at one distance from the lever fulcrum and in which power is transmitted to the lever arm at a greater distance from the lever arm fulcrum. The bead-breaking shoe is of such a form that the leading edge of the shoe meets the wheel rim with its centerline spaced therefrom and engages the tire bead at substantially the leading edge centerline, thereafter engagement expanding progressively about the tire bead perimeter.

Abstract: An electronic aligner head is mounted on one rear wheel of a vehicle. The aligner head projects a light beam toward the front wheel on the same side of the vehicle. A centering gage is adapted to contact lower points on the inner flanges of each of the rear wheel rims. A lateral arm is connected to a housing on the centering gage. The lateral arm extends past the one rear wheel and carries a centering gage head on the free end. The arm is adjustable in length to place the centering gage head at the same lateral distance from the chassis centerline as the light beam projector. The centering gage is removed from the position between the rear wheel rims and placed in a similar position between the front wheel rims. The centering gage head is configured to either reflect the beam back to a light beam detector on the aligner head or alternatively to direct the beam to a detector in the gage head. The detector provides a signal indicative of the toe of the one rear wheel.

Abstract: A conventional cooker or retort for heat processing sealed containers, such as sealed pouches, jars or cans, has an evaporator associated therewith. A source of water is coupled to the evaporator through a valve and a source of a liquid having a higher vapor pressure than water, such as ethyl alcohol, is connected to the evaporator through a metering pump. Pressure and temperature within the retort are monitored and signals indicative thereof are connected to controllers for metering the heat supplied to the evaporator and for metering the ethyl alcohol and water delivered to the evaporator. One controller is configured to operate so that as pressure rises, proportions of ethyl alcohol introduced into the evaporator is reduced while the proportion of water introduced is increased. Another controller functions to restrict the amount of heating medium, such as steam, delivered to the evaporator as the retort temperature increases.

Abstract: Force transducers are coupled to the shaft of a wheel unbalance measuring device to provide periodic electrical signals indicative of unbalance forces. Operation of the system while a known unbalance is mounted on the shaft provides data from which calibration constants for the system are calculated. The measuring system is adaptable to implement certain system self diagnostic processes. The system may continuously drive the shaft and display the force transducer output peak values so that the transducers may be monitored for excessive noise and for normal operation. The balancer shaft may also be run continuously and two plane unbalance displayed so that the stability of the system may be monitored. In each of the latter two diagnostic capabilities readings are taken by the system over a predetermined number of shaft revolutions so that noise frequencies imparted to the data by the drive components may be substantially eliminated.

Abstract: In a method of and apparatus for harvesting a row of grapevines, a pair of opposed parallel striker bars are pivoted back and forth transversely of the row of grapevines about an axis that is situated over the plants and that extends parallel to the direction of travel of the harvester. The front ends of the striker bars are supported by a front shaker frame, and the rear ends of the striker bars are supported by a rear shaker frame that is free to pivot independently of the front shaker frame. Dual-eccentric-weight oscillatory drives are mounted to the front and rear shaker frames. Various drive arrangements are disclosed for rotating the eccentric weights on the front and rear shaker frames at different frequencies, amplitudes or phase relationships, as desired. Due to the different motions of the front and rear ends of the opposed striker bars, the bars impart a varying shaking action on the grapevines as the bars are translated forwardly relative to the grapevines.

Abstract: A container is arranged to be quickly attached to or removed from a closed chute that is disposed around the ejection port of a submachine gun so that empty cartridge casings expelled from the gun are deposited into the container in a manner such that gases remaining in the casings cannot escape into the surrounding atmosphere. The container is capable of being sealed after the casings are received thereon.

Abstract: Structure is provided which provides a changeable bow configuration for a floating hull which requires a bow configuration which facilitates travel through water only part of the time. An amphibious vehicle is an example of such a requirement, wherein the bow of the vehicle hull in the land mode is relatively snub-nosed presenting a hard unyielding surface to ground obstacles such as rocks and mounds as it travels over the terrain. The amphibious vehicle in a sea or water traveling mode generally requires additional buoyancy in the bow to prevent a diving tendency when underway and also requires a shape better adapted to travel along the surface of the water than the snub-nosed bow configuration of the land mode. Left and right moveable bow segments and a lower bow segment are retracted in the land mode to form the snub-nosed or bow.

Abstract: An absorber for increasing the concentration of oxygen in a solution has a pressure chamber therein which receives oxygen under pressure as well as a liquid to be oxygenated within an upper portion thereof. A shaft on which a turbine blade agitator is mounted is located in the upper portion of the chamber. The shaft is driven rotationally by a motor through a rotary seal in the pressure chamber cover. A baffle plate is mounted within the pressure chamber to define a lower portion therebeneath, which is in communication with the upper portion, but isolated from the agitation in the upper portion. The oxygen-liquid solution which drains into the lower portion is subsaturated and relatively quiescent, so that large oxygen bubbles therein disengage and rise into the upper portion, and entrained small bubbles therein dissolve in the subsaturated oxygen-liquid solution.

Abstract: A wheel restraining means is provided for use on tire-changing machines and the like which comprises a rigid plate to the underside of which, flexible ring is secured. The ring is urged into pressurable engagement with wheel to be secured on the machine and to be restrained from vertical movement.The wheel is secured from lateral movement by a self-locking conical member which engages the lower edge of the wheel hub hole.

Abstract: A memory circuit is provided for use in conjunction with a conveying apparatus having a number of discharge or drop points at which articles may be discharged so that the articles may be sorted according to weight. A micro-processor is also provided which receives a synchronizing signal from the drive for the sorting conveyor as well as measurement signals which are indicative of the weights being measured. The micro-processor classifies the measured weight in accordance with a classification program. The classified weights are inserted into memory locations within memory segments assigned to specific ones of the conveyor drop points. Each memory segment assigned to a conveyor drop point has a predetermined number of memory locations therein corresponding to a predetermined number of conveyor increments extending from the point on the conveyor at which the weight classification of the article takes place to the drop point.

Abstract: A wheel restraining means having an upper rigid plate and a compressible air bag or similar flexible medium where a generally annular configuration is provided. This structure is mounted on a shaft and a conical member secures the structure to the shaft. The lower compressible surface engages a wheel rim which is mounted on the shaft. The pressurable engagement between the undersurface of the wheel restraining means and the adjacent surfaces of the wheel rim serve to secure the wheel on the shaft.This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 871,891 filed Jan. 23, 1978, and now abandoned.

Abstract: An apparatus receives empty bins and loose articles of random size and shape, such as apples, to be stored within the bins at a fill station. The articles are delivered to an inclined conveyor which has a lower end adjacent to a horizontal conveyor with a stop roller being positioned between the conveyors. When the articles have collected on the inclined conveyor a predetermined distance up the incline, a drive is actuated which simultaneously moves the inclined conveyor upwardly and moves the horizontal conveyor away from the inclined conveyor while rotating the stop roller to permit the articles to move from the inclined conveyor to the horizontal conveyor. This conveyor motion causes the articles to gently cascade down the incline in spread out fashion so that they are transported toward the end of the horizontal conveyor remote from the inclined conveyor and across the entire breadth thereof.

Abstract: An off-the-car wheel unbalance measuring system has a rotationally driven wheel mounting shaft supported in a pedestal together with a pair of force transducers mounted in the pedestal adjacent to and spaced along the shaft. The force transducers are coupled mechanically to the shaft and provide periodic electrical output signals indicative of unbalance forces transmitted through the shaft when the shaft is driven rotationally. The angular position of the shaft is monitored with respect to an angular reference position at a predetermined number of angular increments during each full revolution of the shaft. The transducer output signals are converted in electrical circuitry within the system to digital form, and a multiplication operation is performed on the digitized signals at each angular increment using sine and cosine representative factors corresponding to that particular angular increment.

Abstract: A periscopic sight is mounted to extend through the wall of protective armor surrounding a gun station. An elevation mirror is exposed to receive light from the direction in which the gun is pointing and to reflect the light along a vertical path extending through the sight. A sealed unitary lens system has a lens axis aligned with the vertical path and conducts the light therethrough to a stationary mirror accessible to the eye of an observer. The sealed unitary lens system has a sufficiently long eye relief to provide an unobstructed image to the observer in spite of the placement of the stationary mirror between the lens system and the observer.

Abstract: A spacer assembly for half steam table trays includes a grid-like framework upon which are mounted a plurality of non-metallic support pads adapted to accept the corners of adjacent trays laid thereon in a rectangular pattern. The framework is fabricated of a light metal functioning structurally only to position the support pads. A spacer assembly is laid atop each succeeding layer of trays and the tray corners are compressed a predetermined amount until the pads in a vertical column are in contact, whereby the pads bear the load of the trays stacked thereabove.

Abstract: A sorting apparatus classifies and discharges articles, such as items of agricultural produce, in accordance with their individual weights. A multichannel conveyor cooperates with a front end singulator which receives the produce from a source of supply and which provides the items in single file to a continuous line of spaced carrying cups moved by the conveyor along each channel. The cups are disposed for movement between an upright article carrying position and a depending discharge position, and they are supported by a rail in each channel. The rail has openings therein at each of a plurality of discharge stations spaced therealong. The cups each pass over a weighing scale aligned with the supporting rail near the front end of each conveyor channel which scale comprises a pivotally mounted bar upon which the cups ride.

Abstract: A rotary irrigation system comprises a length of irrigation tubing formed by interconnected pipe sections and having sprinkler heads spaced along the length thereof, which tubing is connected at one end to a fixed upstanding water supply pipe and which is connected at the other end to a pulling tractor that is powered by the irrigation water under pressure in the tubing. The length of tubing is provided at spaced positions along its length with hydraulic cylinder powered support struts. The activation of the struts and the tractor is controlled by a timing mechanism at the central water supply pipe which periodically shuts off the flow of water to the tubing.