Abstract: A thermos carafe with an inner container surrounded by a casing, whereby the inner container and the casing at the top have an opening which can be closed by a plug. The plug and/or the opening are shaped in such a way that it is possible to fill and empty the inner container, while the plug is left in the opening.

Abstract: A tank content gauging system including a plurality of radiation sources and a radiation detector mounted at a fuel tank, with the radiation detector positioned for receiving radiation from the sources and for producing an output which is an electrical analog of the detected radiation, a register for storing the detector output, a telemetry-on-demand switching unit for starting and stopping the detector operation from a point distant from the tank, a transceiver for sending "on" and "off" commands to the switching unit and receiving telemetry data from the register, a computer having the telemetry data and reference data as inputs for producing an output representing the quantity of fuel in the tank, and a display for indicating the quantity of fuel in the tank.

Abstract: A food product cooker having a main frame, a cooking oil pan, a plurality of product carriages, and a main drive endless chain for moving the carriages about the main frame to and from the cooking pan. A food product cooker particularly adapted for producing shells for enchiladas from tortillas, with each carriage having a food product holder with a tubular section on which the tortilla is wrapped and a clamp section which holds the wrapped tortilla in place while being moved into, through and out of the cooking oil pan.

Abstract: An inflatable sailboat which may be constructed principally of plastic sheet stock and plastic tubing and be easily assembled for use and disassembled for storage and shipping. A sailboat with an inflatable hull having a plurality of tubing anchors mounted thereon for slidingly receiving anchor rods to locate and support a mast fitting on the upper side, a keel at the bow and a rudder at the stern. A mast and sail which are readily assembled and mounted on the hull and which are readily disassembled for storage and shipping.

Abstract: A display case for supporting and viewing of a museum piece, the case including a base providing a lower chamber for a humidity buffer and a transparent cover providing an upper chamber for the piece on display. The case is substantially airtight, with sealed access ports in the base for inserting and removing humidity buffer containers, and with a clamped soft seal between the cover and base for removal of the cover to provide access to the display space. In the preferred embodiment, the humidity buffer is contained in cylindrical containers which rest on a sloping shelf in the base for ease of handling, and the lower and upper chambers are separated by a platform which provides a restricted airflow path between the chambers so that opening an access port does not result in substantial airflow into or out of the upper chamber.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for continuously storing a strip of material in a coil, such as a multi-hour motion picture theatre film. The apparatus includes a flat platter with drive means for rotating the platter, a cam mounted for rotation with the platter and having a cam track with alternating sections of greater distance and lesser distance from the center of the platter, and means for applying the incoming strip to the periphery of the coil on the platter. The applying means includes a cam follower for engaging the cam track to position the strip in a coil on the platter having inwardly directed rounded cusps with arcuate outer peripheries therebetween. In order to produce or eliminate tension in the strip, a fixed roller is positioned at the arcuate outer periphery for urging the coil inward as the roller contacts the arcuate periphery.

Abstract: A controller for a battery charger terminates battery charging operation as a function of a time derivative of measured battery voltage. The controller has analog and digital embodiments. A controller with means for determining a time derivative of the measured battery voltage, determining a change in slope of the time derivative, and using said change in slope as a control function for the battery charger.

Abstract: An apparatus for dispensing measured amounts of liquor from a liquor source under pressure. The apparatus includes a hand held nozzle with a thumb operated plunger valve and with the nozzle connected to the liquor source and a source of gas under pressure via a control valve and a liquor storage cylinder. Manual actuation of the dispenser valve on the nozzle controls the control valve which in turn actuates the storage cylinder to dispense the metered amount of liquor, with the storage cylinder being powered by the liquor source and with the control valve being powered by the gas source.

Abstract: A keg tapper for use with a keg having a neck with a closure valve carried therein and a flange with a tapered edge on the neck. An arrangement for attaching the tapper at the flanged neck so that completion of the attachment opens the inner valve of the keg closure. A plunger carried in the keg tapper with an arrangement for moving the plunger axially within the tapper body to engage the keg closure and open the outer valve. A keg tapper which can be utilized in the tavern configuration and in the picnic configuration.

Abstract: A banding tool and method of operation for tightening and securing a band about an article within predetermined tension limits and for automatically locking that tension once the predetermined tension has been attained, which tool includes a receiver element, a first gripping element for incrementally advancing the banding material through the tool, a second gripping element for securing the banding material within the tool as the banding material is being tightened about the article, an actuator unit for predetermining tension limits and for precisely determining when that predetermined band tension about the article has been reached and which automatically locks the tension into the band once that tension is attained about the article, a bending element for bending the banding material after the predetermined tension has been locked about the article, and a cutting member for severing the excess banding material from the band while maintaining the predetermined tension.

Abstract: A system for indicating cracks in a hollow aircraft blade, such as a helicopter blade. A system wherein a pressure differential is maintained within the blade with respect to the ambient atmosphere and including a pressure sensor for mounting on the blade in communication with the interior of the blade and having a member which moves in response to pressure changes within the blade, a beta radiation source mounted on the member and disposed for radiation transmission to a detector, a beta radiation detector for mounting on a nonrotating portion of the aircraft for receiving radiation from the source, and circuitry having the output of the detector as an input and providing an output which varies as a function of the position of the pressure sensor member for indicating the pressure condition within the blade. An improved beta radiation detector housing which substantially eliminates detector sensitivity to radar transmissions while maintaining sensitivity to nuclear radiation in the beta range.

Abstract: A marine operations structure for use in arctic seas having steel/concrete composite ice walls positioned to permit multi-year ice ridges to be broken up with lower vertical forces imposed on the structure than heretofore possible. The structure provides for simultaneous contacting and fracturing of both surface ice floe and multi-year ice ridges by proportioning of the ratio of the annular dimension of a first sloped surface to the radius of the structure within the range of about from 0.15 to 0.30. The structure is fabricated by modular construction techniques which lowers total construction costs. The structure is in the form of a sixteen-sided polygonal sloped walled marine structure with internal ballast tanks for providing gravity founding of the structure on the sea floor. Modular drilling equipment is provided for and supported by the structure for use through two rectangular shaped moon pools extending vertical throughout the central core of the structure.

Abstract: A reel pipelaying vessel having multiple reels for laying operational lines in a wide range of water depths. An operational lines laying device is mounted on the vessel in order to provide supporting means for the simultaneous layout of a plurality of operational lines at a common velocity and in a predetermined relationship to one another. Motive means are interconnected to the multiple reels in order to control the rate of layout. Separate or combined straightening and tensioning devices can be employed for handling the rigid walled pipeline contained within the operational lines. The straightening and tensioning devices can be mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the vessel deck or can be operated in fixed planes with respect to the deck. Six or more operational lines can be simultaneously laid out with the vessel described.

Abstract: A reel pipelaying vessel having multiple reels for laying operational lines in a wide range of water depths. An operational lines laying device is mounted on the vessel in order to provide supporting means for the simultaneous layout of a plurality of operational lines at a common velocity and in a predetermined relationship to one another. Motive means are interconnected to the multiple reels in order to control the rate of layout. Separate or combined straightening and tensioning devices can be employed for handling the rigid walled pipeline contained within the operational lines. The straightening and tensioning devices can be mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the vessel deck or can be operated in fixed planes with respect to the deck. Six or more operational lines can be simultaneously laid out with the vessel described.

Abstract: A cable enclosure for enclosing electrical cable splices, typically telephone cables. An elongate housing having first and second housing members joined together along one edge for movement between housing open and closed conditions, and an elongate header for attachment to a messenger cable, with the housing members being closable about the header. A suspension system is provided for supporting the housing members from the header when in the open condition providing free access to the cables during the splicing operation. The housing members have replaceable end plates for handling various numbers of cables through each end plate.

Abstract: A pipeline vessel for laying out and coating a pipeline from a storage reel onto the bottom of a body of water. The vessel equipment provides for both straightening and tensioning of the pipeline as well as coating with a wide range of concrete and/or polymer coats. Both extrusion type thermoplastic coatings and reacted in situ thermoset resins are employed. The process of laying a relatively inflexible pipeline from such a reel pipelaying vessel and coating the pipe as it is laid out is also provided.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for calculating the equivalent blackbody color temperature of incandescent lamps. A lamp analyzer having photosensors which detect the red and blue components of lamp radiation and convert the components to analog currents. The currents pass through a multiplex system and are converted into a signal with voltages proportional to the photosensor currents. A signal conditioner circuit removes switching transients, damped oscillations and cell noise from the circuit, and an automatic gain controller system insures linearity in the signal. The ratio of the blue component of the signal to the red component is then determined by a ratio computer, producing an output which is linearized and scaled by a translator to display the corresponding color temperature of the lamp in Kelvins.

Abstract: A food product cooker having a main frame with a cooking oil pan and a plurality of food product carriages driven about the frame to and from the pan, with each of the carriages including a food product holder having upper and lower sections for receiving and transporting the food product. Each of the carriages includes a holder having pivoted sections for receiving, retaining and molding the food product therebetween. Cam tracks and cam followers provide automatic control of the holder sections. The main drive chain moves the carriages from the unloading position to the loading position, and a separate carriage pusher chain moves the carriages through the cooking vat.

Abstract: A composition and method for stripping solder and the underlying tin-copper alloy from the copper substrate of a printed circuit board with a single application of the composition. An aqueous solution of nitric acid, ferric nitrate and sulfamic acid, which may be sprayed directly onto the printed circuit board for removing both the solder and the alloy.

Abstract: A system for measuring angles, including a lens or antenna for focusing the radiation from an object scene onto an image sensor which is shifted by a clock, thereby producing the real time imaging of the object scene wherein each element of the object scene is detected as a pulse, representing the element angular displacement from the lens, at the output of the image sensor. A system for measuring angles of objects relative to the centerline of a lens or antenna. A goniometer for measuring the bearing of objects. A system for measuring the vector speed of objects. A velocity meter for measuring the speed of objects. A system for tracking objects. A system for motion compensation. A search, track or track-while-scan detection system. Without the lens or antenna, a system for recording and reproducing halograms.