Abstract: A soda straw dispenser consisting of a horizontal fixed drum adapted to contain soda straws resting longitudinally therein, and having a longitudinal discharge slot in an upper portion thereof, and a rotor carried in the drum and including a straw carrier operable on a partial rotation of the rotor to select a single straw from those in the container, elevate it to the discharge slot, and eject it through the slot to a station at which it may be manually grasped for removal. Special provisions are made to prevent escape of the straw from the carrier by any avenue other than through the slot, for example back into the drum.

Abstract: A limit switch consisting of a driven member connected to a rotary driver member the operation of which is controlled by the limit switch, so as to turn therewith, one or more poles geared to the driven member so as to be rotated thereby, one or more fingers extending laterally from each of the poles, and one or more electric switches mounted adjacent each pole so as to be engaged and operated by one of the fingers at one position in the angular movement of the pole. The gear connection between the driven member and the poles is disengageable by manual means and readily adjustable to provide a coarse setting of the relative angular positions of the driver and poles, and the extension of the fingers from the poles is continuously adjustable to provide a fine setting. The ratio of the gears is such that the poles turn faster than the driver. This multiplies the motion of the fingers and hence provides greater accuracy in the operation of the switches.

Abstract: An air chuck fitting to be attached to a flexible pressurized air hose for providing a manual press-fitted connection to the valve stem of an automobile tire or the like, and consisting of a tubular body member attachable to the hose end and having a pressure-seated plunger valve therein, the plunger valve having a plunger extension which, when pressed over the valve stem of an automobile tire, opens both the plunger valve and the air valve of the stem to admit air to the stem, the invention being characterized by the construction of the body member, hose and plunger valve assembly, wherein a single assembly member performs the functions of providing a sealed connection of the hose to the body member, limiting and controlling the motion of the plunger valve, and providing for air passage from the hose to the plunger valve.

Abstract: A hair waving device consisting of a pair of perforated, wave-form plates adapted to receive a lock of hair therebetween, and adjustable latch means operable to interconnect the plates to secure them in place on the lock of hair, and to accommodate any lack of parallelism of the general planes of the plates.

Abstract: An electric toothbrush consisting of an elongated body member having a cylindrical brush mounted coaxially therewith at one end thereof, and driven rotatably by a reversible electric motor carried in the handle, and having an automatic reversing switch responsive to the position in which the handle is held to cause rotation of the brush such that its bristles move in a direction from the gum line toward the crowns of the teeth.

Abstract: A veneer edging jig for a table saw having a flat table with a vertical circular saw blade projecting upwardly through a slot thereof, and a groove parallel to the plane of the saw blade, the jig consisting of elongated upper and lower clamp plates adapted to grip a stack of veneer sheets therebetween with edges of the sheets to be trimmed projecting beyond a matching pair of longitudinal edges of the plates, and a rib carried by the lower plate and engageable in the table groove so that the plates may be moved over the table with its matching edges flush with the saw blade, and the projecting portions of the veneer sheets are accurately cut away.

Abstract: A heat storage system consisting of a compartmented tank containing a liquid medium capable of storing heat therein, a flow control system operable to establish a liquid flow in the tank operable to concentrate the hottest liquid in a compartment remote from the outer tank wall, and sucessively less hot liquid in compartments successively closer to the outer tank wall, whereby to minimize heat loss from the tank through its walls, a pumping system operable to remove liquid from the coolest compartment of the tank to an external heater and return it to the hottest compartment of the tank, and a pumping system operable to remove liquid from the hottest region of the tank to a heat-consuming external load device such as a home heating system, and return it to the coolest region of the tank. A simple reversal of parts permits the system to be used for the storage of negative heat, or cold, for use in operating a heat-absorbing external load device, such as a home cooling system.

Abstract: A screw having an annular socket formed concentrically in the outer surface of its head, with at least a pair of radial walls in said socket, and adapted to be used with a pair of special tubular drivers adapted to be inserted coaxially into said socket and having its side walls transversely slotted to engage over the radial walls, one of the drivers being of a diameter to engage weakened portions of the walls, which by breaking out, limit the torque applicable to set the screw, and the other of the drivers being of a diameter to engage stronger portions of the radial walls for applying greater torque to remove the screw. Both drivers are capable of frictionally gripping and holding the screw for convenience of inserting or removing the screw into or from positions of difficult access.

Abstract: A solar heating system including a specially designed tank divided into zones in which heat is stored in water, the hottest water in each zone rising to the top thereof by convection. A solar flow circuit draws water from the bottom of the coldest zone, and delivers it through a solar heat collection device back to the bottom of the hottest zone it is capable of heating. A heating flow circuit is drawn from the top of the hottest zone and delivered through a heat dispersing device in a comfort zone back to the top of the coldest zone, and then across the tops of the zones back to the hottest zone. An auxiliary heater fired by external fuel is provided to supply heat when the solar unit cannot carry the heating load. Provision is also made for collecting heat from any other external source available and storing it in the tank, so as to reduce any load on the auxiliary heater.

Abstract: A process for recovering sulfur from sour gas, and providing valuable byproducts, the sour gas consisting principally of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, and the process consisting of the steps of combusting a portion of the hydrogen sulfide with pure oxygen to produce a mixture of H.sub.2 S and SO.sub.2, reacting the mixture successively over a series of catalytic converter beds wherein they react to produce water and elemental sulfur, the elemental sulfur being condensed after each converter, and the gaseous output of each converter being repressurized and reheated before entering the next successive converter to improve the yield of sulfur therein, combusting the gaseous output of the final converter of the series with pure oxygen in a final catalytic converter to convert any remaining H.sub.2 S to SO.sub.2, and treating the H.sub.2 O, SO.sub.2 and CO.sub.2 mixture emerging from said converter to remove therefrom the water and CO.sub.2, which are in themselves valuable byproducts and recycling the SO.

Abstract: In connection with a furnace having a forced air recirculation system driven by a blower, and an atmospheric flue for its combustion chamber, a heat exchanger housing surrounding the flue to extract heat therefrom, the furnace blower drawing atmospheric air through the heat exchanger housing into the recirculating air system in proportions controlled either manually or automatically.

Abstract: A spring deck for seating structures consisting of a wire fabric sheet adapted to be applied to cover an open seating frame, and consisting of a pair of normally straight side spring wires secured at spaced intervals along their lengths to the side legs of the frame, and closely spaced, normally straight spring cross wires extending between and connected at their ends to the side wires.

Abstract: A home heating and cooling system consisting of a pair of large water tanks and a heat-operated absorption-type refrigeration system disposed between the tanks and operable to transfer heat from one tank to the other. The "hot" tank supplies hot water for operating a hot water home heating system, supplies a portion of the heat necessary to operate the refrigeration system, and may also operate a home hot water supply system, drawing heat from the "cold" tank and from the atmosphere through the refrigeration system. In periods of low heat demand, it may store large amounts of heat for later use in periods of higher demand, thereby reducing the heating load imposed on the refrigeration unit. The "cold" tank supplies a cold liquid for a home cooling system operable by such liquid, and the heat absorbed by said cooling system, together with heat absorbed from the atmosphere, is transferred to the hot tank by the refrigeration unit.

Abstract: A sow feeding enclosure consisting of a structure providing a plurality of side-by-side stalls each accommodating one sow, and each having a rear door providing ingress for the sow, and a front door providing egress for the sow, a feed bunker being attached to the front door to be swung out of the way when the front door is opened. Both the front and rear doors may be manually unlocked and opened, or closed and locked, by an operator positioned in front of the stalls.

Abstract: A self-propelled vehicle including a frame having ground-engaging wheels at each side thereof, the wheels being carried rotatably at either end of an axle carried pivotally by the frame on a horizontal, fore-and-aft axis, and a power device for tilting the axle transversely of the vehicle to keep the frame in a normal horizontal position when the vehicle traverses sloping ground transversely to the slope of the ground, so as to prevent overturning of the vehicle when the slope of the ground is steep. The power device operates automatically with no attention from the driver required, and also functions to maintain the wheels in vertical planes to further improve the stability of the vehicle.

Abstract: A grass and leaf collector and compactor attachment for lawn mowers consisting of a chute adapted to be mounted at the side of a mower hood to receive mower cuttings ejected from the hood in the lower end thereof, the chute angling upwardly into a hopper also adapted to be mounted on the mower, and a paddle bar extending generally longitudinally through the chute and having paddles secured transversely thereto at intervals along its length. The paddle bar is driven in a vertical orbital path by a special driving connection to a ground-engaging wheel of the mower, so as to impel cuttings received in the lower end of the chute upwardly through the chute into the hopper. The driving connection includes a special safety clutch operable to be disengaged automatically in the event of any substantial obstruction to movement of the paddle bar, so as to prevent damage. The hopper is at a sufficient elevation above ground level that its contents may be dumped by dropping the floor thereof.

Abstract: A bale handling device consisting of a wheeled cart adapted to be hitched to a towing vehicle and including a pair of laterally spaced apart arms pivotal on upright vertical axes to bring their free ends opposite the ends of a cylindrical bale resting on the ground, each arm carrying a spindle insertable axially into the bale by movement of the arms toward each other, the arms being pivotal about a transverse horizontal axis to elevate the bale above the ground for transport, or to rest the bale on the ground to be unrolled on the ground by movement of the cart, for the purpose of feeding livestock.

Abstract: A gauge for use in connection with the timing of a diesel engine and adapted to measure the spacing between an injector body surface and a surface of the plunger of the injector, the surfaces being parallel, the gauge consisting of a gauge body restable on the plunger surface and a gauge stem restable on the body surface and extending slidably through the gauge body parallel to the direction of plunger movement, the stem having a planar surface normal to its axis which will be moved into coplanar relation to a corresponding planar surface of the gauge body when the spacing being measured is correctly adjusted, the coplanar relation of these surfaces, or any lack thereof, being readily detectable by touch when passing a fingertip thereover.

Abstract: A knee protection device for use by athletes, particularly football players, consisting of a tubular boot adapted to be worn on the leg at the knee, a jointed metal reinforcing bar mounted in the boot at the inner side of the knee, a pair of straps encircling the leg and reinforcing bar respectively above and below the knee joint, and an impact-operated strap tightening device operable to tighten each of the straps whenever the knee receives a blow at its outer side.