Abstract: A semiconductor processing workpiece support which includes a detection subsystem that detects whether a wafer or other workpiece is present. The preferred arrangement uses an optical beam emitter and an optical beam detector mounted along the back side of a rotor which acts as a workpiece holder. The emitted beam passes through the workpiece holder and is reflected by any workpiece present in the Workpiece holder. The preferred units include both an optical emitter and pair of detectors. The detection is preferably able to discriminate on the basis of the angle of the reflected beam, so that a portion of the beam reflected by the workpiece holder is not considered or minimized.

Abstract: An adjustable leg assembly comprises an outer tube and an inner tube subassembly. The inner tube assembly comprises an inner tube, a floor support at one end of the inner tube, an expandable bushing at an opposite end of the inner tube, a rod extending through the inner tube and secured to the bushing and threadedly engaged with the floor support. The inner tube subassembly is inserted into the outer tube such that the bushing is confined within the outer tube and can be expanded into and retracted from contact with the outer tube by turning the floor support relative to the inner tube. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the floor support is a glide/tightener that provides a floor glide to support the leg assembly and that provides a tightener that is threadedly engaged with the bushing rod.

Abstract: The automotive rocking beam suspension comprises a rocking beam assembly pivotably mounted to the chassis structure of a vehicle, a torsion spring connecting the rocking beam assembly to the vehicle chassis structure. A pair of wheel mounting assemblies are mounted to the rocking beam assembly for carrying a wheel, each wheel mounting assembly permitting independent vertical movement of the wheel carried by that wheel mounting assembly. A road spring is associated with each wheel mounting assembly for supporting the chassis structure.

Abstract: A fence system comprises tubular plastic posts and at least one tubular plastic rail, the rail having multiple rail sections joined together end-to-end with plastic couplings, and the posts each having an anchor assembly slidably-fitting into a bottom of the post and extending axially from the post so that the anchor assembly may be driven into the ground by aligning the post to the ground and driving the anchor assembly through the post and into the ground. Each post is provided with at least one rail aperture having an opening on one side of the post that is slightly larger than the rail sections and having an opening on the other side of the post that is vertically oblong so as to permit a rail section to extend through the rail opening at a non-perpendicular angle without binding in the aperture.

Abstract: The invention comprises a pair of telescopic sight mount aligning bars. Each bar comprises an elongated rod having a planar circular inner end bounded by a circular peripheral edge. The circular inner ends of the two bars are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of their respective bars, and the inner ends of the two bars have substantially identical diameters and peripheral edges so that the two inner ends may be closely juxtaposed when used to align, and to check the alignment of, a telescopic sight mount. Consequently, a telescopic sight mount misalignment will be revealed by a misalignment of the peripheral edges relative to one another and also will be revealed by a non-parallelity between the two inner ends.

Abstract: A log peeler comprises a log peeling knife assembly 10 attached to a pulling cable 12, the pulling cable 12 being reeved around a powered cable drum 14. The pulling cable is attached at each end of the knife assembly so that the knife assembly will be pulled straight along a longitudinal line perpendicular to the orientation of the knife assembly. The powered cable drum 14 may be an engine or motor driven winch, where the engine or motor is an integral part of the assembly that includes the cable drum. The cable drum 14 is powered by a portable and detachable engine, such as a chain saw assembly 16. A remote control 82 may be located at or near the knife assembly so that the operator can engage or disengage the powered drum, as by closing or opening the chain saw trigger 17 through the action of a controller mechanism 84.

Abstract: A quick release hitch for attaching a tow line to an object comprises a flat plate body having a first opening at a first end for attachment to a connector, and a second opening at a second end through which a tow line may be inserted, a first pair of side notches, each notch of the first pair opening to one side of the body and extending transversely into the body toward the other notch of the first pair, each notch of the first pair being formed to receive the tow line, and a second pair of side notches, each notch of the second pair opening to one side of the body and extending obliquely into the body toward an opposite one of the first pair of side notches, each notch of the second pair narrowing inward and being formed to receive and secure the tow line when the tow line is inserted through the second opening and wound around the body and extended through the first pair of side notches before being extended through one of the second pair of notches.

Abstract: A hand grip for attachment to an elongated cord-like element comprises a unitary body provided with a first aperture adjacent a first end of the body, a second aperture adjacent a second end of the body, a first slit extending from the first end to the first aperture, and a second slit extending from the second end to the second aperture. The apertures and the slits are located with respect to one another that a first pair of transverse tabs are provided between the first aperture and the first end, that a second pair of transverse tabs are provided between the second aperture and the second end, and that the tabs of each pair of transverse tabs are separated by one of the slits. The hand body is formed of a material having sufficient elasticity that the body can be longitudinally bent into a longitudinally channel without exceeding the elastic limit of the material.

Abstract: A garden rake pick-up attachment for a garden rake of the type having a bow rake head tine section and a handle comprises a pick-up tine section, a clamp section, and a handle section; the pick-up tine section comprising a tine bar carried by yoke bars, the yoke bars having a yoke section therein including a hinge member extending between the yoke bars. The clamp section comprises top and bottom clamps shaped to engage the garden rake yoke bars and to confine the hinge member so that the pick-up tine section can pivot around the hinge member relative to the garden rake tine section. The pick-up yoke section is shaped to enable the garden rake handle to pass therethrough. The pick-up handle section comprises an elongated handle rod pivotably connected to the pick-up yoke section, a handle grip at an opposite end of the handle rod, and a stop for holding the pick-up tine section in an open position.

Abstract: A nailing gun carrier comprises a frame for carrying a nailing gun and moving the nailing gun along a surface to be nailed, a gun holder for attaching the nailing gun to the frame, and a gun firing assembly for positioning the nailing gun in proper position for firing a nail into the surface to be nailed. The gun firing assembly comprises a trigger-engaging arm positioned to depress a trigger of the nailing gun so as to cause the nailing gun to fire, a trigger safety release positioned to engage and release a trigger safety mechanism of the nailing gun to enable the gun to be fired, and a cam mechanism carried by the frame and operative to cycle the trigger-engaging arm between firing and non-firing modes and to cycle the trigger safety release between engaged and released modes so that the frame may be moved along the surface to be nailed and so that the nailing gun carried by the frame can be periodically fired to nail according to the cycles of the cam mechanism.

Abstract: A food processing system comprises a food processor, a food product conveyor belt associated and constructed of segments that are longitudinally displaceable relative to one another and linked together to form an endless conveyor belt that extends through the food processor. The conveyor belt is arranged to travel from a lineal course into and through an arcuate course. A conveyor drive drivingly engages with the conveyor belt.

Abstract: A scaffold support comprises a beam fabricated in the form of a rectangular steel tube having width less than its height, and a pair of legs each fabricated in the form of a rectangular steel tube. The legs are welded to opposite sides of the beam so as to diverge from one another at an acute angel and so as to angle outward and downward from the beam at an acute angle from the vertical when the beam is oriented horizontally. An angle bar welded to each leg and extending between the legs to stabilize the legs and to provide a step. A steel scaffolding retainer welded to an outer end of the beam and extended above a top edge of said the so as to prevent scaffolding from moving beyond the outer end, and a steel mounting plate is welded to an inner end of the beam so as to provide a bearing surface for the inner end.

Abstract: A horseshoe has a closed end toe section provided with a concave depression in its upper surface and a rearwardly and downwardly beveled portion in its lower surface. The concave depression is provided over an area sufficient to avoid contact with the sole of a horse's foot beneath the tip of the coffin bone.

Abstract: An ankle strengthening and rehabilitation device comprises a foot plate attachable to the sole of a person's foot, and a weight attachable to the foot plate so as to cantilever outward from the bottom surface of the foot plate. The foot plate may be provided with an isolation channel extending along a longitudinal axis of the foot plate, and with a fastener for attaching the weight to the foot plate through the isolation channel so that the weight may be selectively positioned along the longitudinal axis of the foot plate. Alternately, the foot plate may be provided with a series of isolation apertures positioned along a longitudinal axis of the foot plate, and with a fastener for attaching the weight to the foot plate through any one of isolation apertures so that the weight may be selectively positioned along the longitudinal axis of the foot plate. The weight may comprise multiple weighted disks assembled together to form a weighted column.

Abstract: A saw blade balancing tool which comprises a balancing gauge adapted to be mounted to a saw blade hub, and a balancing stand. The balancing gauge comprises a frame, a balancing mechanism mounted to the frame, and a level indicator mounted to the frame. The balancing mechanism includes adjustable elements for balancing a saw blade and for indicating a locus for removing material from the saw blade to balance the saw blade about its hub. The said balancing stand has a saw blade mounting cap for mounting a saw blade at its hub and for positioning the balancing gauge on the saw blade. The balancing mechanism comprises a pair of sliders carried by the frame and mounted for movement in synchronism with one another, one of the sliders being adapted to receive a balancing weight and the other of the sliders being adapted to indicate the locus for removing material from the saw blade.

Abstract: A reusable sterilization pouch 10 comprises a pair of sheets 7, 9 that provide first and second sides 12, 14 of the pouch, and a closure 16. The sheets are edge-bonded along both side edges and along the bottom edge to provide sealing seams 13, 15 and 17, respectively. The closure 16 comprises a transverse open-ended channel 19 extended across the top of the pouch and a closure strip 18 that is inserted through the channel 19. Channel 19 is large enough that closure strip 18 can be manually inserted therethrough; channel 19 may be slightly larger, but it should not be so large that closure strip 18 would be so loosely contained that it could fall out of the channel when the pouch 10 is held or tilted on edge. Channel 19 is formed by doubling or folding one end of the sheet 9, comprising side 14, back onto itself and edge-bonding the overlap to provide a transverse seam 20.

Abstract: The method of operating machinery, the internal working elements of which are contained within a closed lubricating system and operating an internal combustion engine, in the presence of an electrical field, wherein the internal working elements are contacted during operation by the lubricating medium herein described. That lubricating medium comprises a major portion of an insulating oil having a hydrophobic nature such as natural or synthetic engine oil and a minor portion of an additive composition. The additive composition comprises an admixture of a metal soap, of the type often used as a thickening agent for greases; and fine particulate solid material of a hydrophilic nature, of the type often used in extreme pressure greases such as graphite and molybdenum disulfide.

Abstract: A person transfer assist device is provided for use to help a person transfer from a sitting position to a standing position and from a standing position to a sitting position which comprises: a) a pad for fitting around the lower back and waist of a person to be assisted; b) a grip bar having a length sufficient to enable an attendant and the person to be assisted to grip the bar during use of the device; and c) a strap secured to the pad and to the grip bar, the strap having a sufficient length so as to enable an attendant to stand before a person to be assisted and to pull such a person from a sitting position to a standing position, or to lower such a person from a standing position to a sitting position, while maintaining an upright posture. A waist strap may be provided to attach the pad around the lower back and waist of the person requiring assistance.