Abstract: A grommet is attachable over an opening in an enclosure wall of an electrical device to protect electrical conductors passing through the opening. The grommet has a twist lock conduit connector that can be attached over an opening in the enclosure wall of the electrical device without the need for separate fasteners. The grommet protects the insulation of electrical conductors passing through the opening of the enclosure wall, seals the opening from its exterior environment, and provides a connection outside the enclosure wall for the attachment of a length of conduit through which the electrical conductors are passed.

Abstract: A pallet unstacker/stacker can receive a stack of skewed or misaligned pallets on a conveyor of the unstacker/stacker, raise all but the bottom most pallet in the stack, square or straighten the bottom pallet and then dispense the straightened pallet from the unstacker/stacker, lower the remaining stack of pallets onto the conveyor and again raise all but the bottom most pallet in the stack to repeat the straightening step and dispensing step of operation of the unstacker/stacker. All of the component parts of the unstacker/stacker are supported on a unitary, transportable frame that enables the pallet unstacker/stacker to be shipped in conventional cargo containers and also enables the pallet unstacker/stacker to be easily incorporated into existing pallet conveyor systems.

Abstract: A recombinant cell stably transformed with a cDNA of a silent, inducible replicon encoding a recombinant protein is disclosed. Transcription of the replicon cDNA is under the control of a silent promoter inducible by a DNA virus and expression of the recombinant protein is dependent upon the presence of the DNA virus in the cell. The cell can be engineered to package the replicon upon infection by the DNA virus, leading to intercellular amplification of expression of the recombinant protein. Where the recombinant protein is a reporter gene product, the recombinant cell may be used in an assay for detecting DNA viruses. A kit for performing such an assay is also provided.

Abstract: A container assembly includes a one piece container body and a press member connected to the container body. The container body includes a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall to define a liquid reservoir. One of the side walls includes a wringing surface. The press member is operatively connected to the container body for movement of the press member between a wringing position and a non-wringing position relative to the wringing surface of the container body. The press member and the wringing surface define a mop receiving volume. The mop receiving volume has a volume V.sub.1 when the press member is in its non-wringing position and a V.sub.2 when the press member is in its wringing position. The volume V.sub.2 is less than the volume V.sub.1.

Abstract: An apparatus for processing hard-shelled nuts and a method therefore. A nut processing apparatus has a plurality of mechanical grippers moving in a continuous loop, each gripper configured to carry a nut through a plurality of processing stations. A conveyor system sequentially transports single nuts from a hopper to a position where the mechanical grippers may engage each nut and begin the processing cycle. Once engaged, the grippers carry the nuts to a grooving station where a grooving blade is brought into contact with the shells of the nuts. Once the grooving blade is in contact with the shells, the grippers rotate the nuts one complete revolution, thereby cutting a groove in the peripheries of the nuts. The grippers then carry the nuts to a splitting station, where splitting blades are brought into contact with the shells of the nuts where the grooves have been cut, thereby splitting the shell into two parts.

Abstract: Improved overflow protection for washing machines and other applications in which a liquid from a controllable valve fills a tub is achieved by a circuit in which a single pulse train generated cooperatively by a pressure sensor and a controller is monitored by a lockout timer. If an interruption in the train of pulses occurs that is longer than a predetermined time-out period indicating a failure of either the pressure sensor or the controller that would otherwise prevent the valve from shutting off the flow of liquid into the tub, the lockout timer will cause the valve to turn off. The controller is also able to override the lockout timer and cause a relay to shut off power to the controllable valve to force it off if the pressure sensor detects a continued rise in liquid level after the controller has signalled the controllable valve to shut off.

Abstract: An adjustable concrete form comprises at least one tube and an adjustable stake having a post and a tube cradle. A bracket is removably connected to the tube for supporting rebar in spaced-apart relation to the excavation bottom. The bracket includes a tube engaging portion and a rebar supporting portion. The tube engaging portion is configured for connecting the bracket to the tube. The rebar supporting portion extends laterally from a proximal end connected to the tube engaging portion to a distal end spaced from the tube engaging portion.

Abstract: A latch for use in connecting thin panels together has a base with first and second portions connected by a spring loaded hinge, a lock pin and release pin mounted to the base reciprocate relative to the first and second portions of the base. The first and second portions of the base are moveable relative to one another with the second portion of the base having an edge to engage an enlarged head of the distal end of the lock pin and holding the lock pin in a retracted position. A spring biased release pin contacts the second portion of the base and disengages the enlarged head of the lock pin from the second portion of the base, and a biasing spring returns the lock pin into a locked position where it secures a second panel member to a first panel on which the latch is attached. The lock pin and the release pin are operated by a simple hand tool that cooperates with complementary receptacles on the pins to move the pins along their longitudinal axes in response to an axial force applied by the tool.

Abstract: A mounting apparatus for mounting accessories to firearms comprises an accessory lug, a frame, and an accessory lug fixture. The accessory lug is fixed to the firearm. The accessory lug has a lug cross-section shaped to prevent the accessory lug from being received within a standard bayonet lug fixture. The frame includes an accessory-holding portion adapted for holding the accessory and an accessory lug fixture connected to the frame. The accessory lug fixture has a lug-receiving channel with a channel cross-section. The channel cross-section is different than a cross-section of a standard bayonet lug. The channel cross-section is shaped to permit the channel to receive either the accessory lug or a standard bayonet lug in a manner for securing the frame and the accessory to the firearm.

Abstract: A method of communicating emergency warnings to persons within a selected in a region served by a cellular communication system that comprises a plurality of transmission stations, includes providing persons in the area with warning devices that generate an emergency warning in response to a predetermined signal; identifying at least one transmission station in the communication system to transmit the predetermined signal to warning devices in the selected area; and transmitting the predetermined signal from the identified transmission station to cause warning devices in the selected area to generate emergency warnings.

Abstract: An apparatus that is one part of a conveying system for transferring objects, such as bottles, removes layers of the objects from a pallet on which the layers have been stacked or, in reverse operation, arranges the objects in layers stacked on one another on a pallet. The apparatus may be employed to depalletize objects or to palletize objects, where in the depalletizing mode of operation the apparatus has a slipsheet retainer that holds a slipsheet below a layer of objects being depalletized from the stacked layers of objects on the pallet and prevents the slipsheet from moving with the layer of objects as the layer of objects is depalletized.