Abstract: In a tumbler type of dryer, particularly for large capacity commercial and institutional laundries, a heating control system is provided which is responsive to the rate of increase of temperature of hot air leaving the dryer. When this temperature increase exceeds a preselected rate the dryer control system is automatically instructed to shut off or diminish the hot air supply, as well as the tumbler operation if desired. Thus energy is not wastefully consumed after the laundry is already dry; on the other hand, the dryer does not prematurely shut down while laundry is still damp, whereby the dryer must be started up again and energy again is unnecessarily wasted. Different settings are selected in accordance with the characteristics of the type of laundry being processed.

Abstract: A self-propelled posthole digging machine having a vertical drilling assembly mounted on one side thereof by means of an undercarriage frame attachment. This assembly comprises a vertical guide assembly which is movable laterally from the undercarriage and carries an axially movable and rotating auger unit, the vertical guide assembly being pivotally movable relative to a vertical reference to align the auger axis according to the slant of the hole to be drilled.

Abstract: A process for separating and refining substantially pure aluminum from aluminum-bearing materials including bauxites, clays and metallic scrap, wherein a mixture of such aluminum-bearing materials, calcium chloride and a reducing agent is heated above 1600.degree. C., and gases are vented to a cooling zone where condensed chlorides and aluminum are collected. Condensed aluminum trichloride is recycled and mixed with lime to produce calcium chloride in another starting batch. The reducing agent preferably is a carbon or silicon compound.

Abstract: Apparatus for separation of mixtures wherein a mixture is cooled very slowly in a quiescent, nondisturbed condition to produce large dendritic crystals of solidified solvent, then heated very slowly while liquid of high solute concentration is drained from the large interstices between the crystals, the cooling and reheating being effected by slowly conveying containers of mixture in a continuous circular path through a long heat transfer conduit or tunnel having a central refrigeration zone. Adjacent trains of containers travel through the tunnel in opposite directions. Arrangements are provided for collecting liquid having high concentrations of solute and recycling this liquid back through the foregoing process in said containers after they have been emptied of liquid treated in a preceding cycle.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for separation of mixtures wherein a mixture is cooled very slowly in a quiescent, nondisturbed condition to produce large dendritic crystals of solidified solvent, then heated very slowly while liquid of high solute concentration is drained from the large interstices between the crystals, the cooling and reheating being effected by slowly conveying containers of mixture through a long heat transfer conduit or tunnel having a central refrigeration zone; parallel trains of containers preferably travel through the conduit in opposite directions. The residence time of the mixture in traveling through the conduit or tunnel will be of the order of many hours or a few days, depending upon many factors, and in a large industrial installation the length of a pass through it will be several hundred feet; such factors are interrelated to the quantity and compositions of mixtures being processed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for assembling an apertured insert onto a rim extending from the end of a metal container and surrounding an opening therein is disclosed herein. The method contemplates inserting an expandable support member through the aperture in the insert and moving the member into engagement with the inner surface of the end of the container surrounding the opening. The insert is then forced onto the rim of the container while the end panel is supported by the support member. The apparatus consists of a first member for gripping the insert and a second member adapted to pass through the aperture in the insert with expandable means on the second member for extending beyond the periphery of the opening in the container end wall. The apparatus also incorporates drive means for moving the members and the expansible means in synchronized relation to each other.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for supporting and conveying objects or articles, such as can ends, through an electrolytic solution is disclosed herein. The apparatus consists of an endless conveyor that has a plurality of hangers with the hangers being opened to receive objects and closed to grip the article. Each of the hangers has a fixed body with a jaw on the fixed body biased to a closed position. The hanger also has electrically conductive means for accommodating current flow from a fixed cathode track through the jaw to an object being gripped between the jaw and the body so that the articles are automatically coated when the energized articles are passed through a basin containing the solution and a fixed anode.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting cracks or flaws in flanges on the ends of metal container bodies is disclosed herein. The method contemplates generating a magnetic field by passing a primary alternating current having a substantially constant rms value through an inductor means and moving the flange through the magnetic field while monitoring the rms value of the total current passing through the coil and comparing the magnitude thereof with a reference value. A signal is produced when the differential between the values of the total current and the reference exceeds a certain level. The apparatus consists of holding means for receiving and holding a container and means for rotating the holding means about an axis to expose different portions of the flange to a fixed probe positioned adjacent the flange.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing a reducing neck and a peripheral flange on a free peripheral edge portion of a cylindrical container body is disclosed herein. The apparatus consists of a fixed frame having a waxing station, a necking station, and a flanging station defined thereon. The containers are fed from a source in a synchronized fashion along a path with the axis of the cylindrical bodies of the containers extending vertically and are moved past the waxing station where the cans are rotated relative to fixed brushes to apply lubricant to the outer surface of the peripheral free edge portion. The reduced neck on the container is produced by supporting the containers on a bottom member that is carried on the periphery of a turret and an upper member having an annular die with the bottom member being cammed towards and away from the die to produce the reducing neck of the container.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a easy open end of the type that has a tab connection thereto by an integral rivet. The invention resides in an improved method for forming a weakened area or frangible connection between the permanent section of the panel and the removable section. The frangible connection in the panel is formed in such a manner that the removable section is relieved of any compressive forces that may have developed during the formation of the frangible connection. In addition, the removable section of the panel incorporates a further area of reduced cross-section that allows the tab and rivet to be pivoted relative to the removable panel section during initiation of rupture of the frangible connection and provides a vent for the inside of the container prior to the rupture of the fangible connection.

Abstract: A system and method for sensing and detecting articles such as container ends and for providing count and/or control outputs representative of the number of such articles detected. A sensing signal is impinged against the article to be sensed and a feedback signal representative thereof is generated. This feedback signal is connected to the input of a circuit which generates a fixed frequency signal for modulating the sensing signal at the fixed frequency. This circuit provides a first output signal in response to the presence at its input of a signal oscillating at the fixed frequency and a second output signal in the absence at its input of a signal oscillating at the fixed frequency. One of these output signals is indicative of the detection of an article and is applied to suitable counting and/or control circuitry which provides the desired count and/or control outputs.

Abstract: A loading apparatus for supplying container bodies to a mandrel forming part of a can trimming machine is disclosed herein. The loading apparatus consists of a plunger that is guided on the machine frame for axial movement towards and away from the mandrel and moved by a shaft having an arm extending radially therefrom with a link connecting the arm and the plunger. The shaft is rotated between angular extreme positions by a continuously driven cam member to oscillate the arm between positions and reciprocate the plunger towards and away from the mandrel.

Abstract: A drawn and ironed container with a profiled bottom wall is disclosed herein. The profiled bottom wall includes an ellipsoidal dome surrounded by a substantially vertical wall portion which merges with the side wall of the container along an outwardly directed bead. The configuration of the bottom wall substantially increases the resistance to buckling when the container is filled with pressurized product.

Abstract: An apparatus for trimming uneven edges from drawn and ironed metal bodies, such as cans, and breaking, knurling and discarding the scrap ring. The apparatus has oppositely rotating parallel shafts, one having an axially rigid supporting member, cutter and knurling roller at a free end on which a can is supported and the other having an axially rigid rotating wheel with a blade and knurling member peripherally mounted on adjacent sectors thereof. The blade cooperates with the edge of the cutter which is remote from the free end to trim the edge and the knurling member cooperates with the knurling roller. The members mounted on the first shaft and the teeth of the knurling member are configured to provide superior, relatively trouble-free operation.