Abstract: Controlled melting of the tips of bristles is achieved by simple means using a pulsed laser beam operating in the kilowatt range and having a pulse duration in the microsecond range.

Abstract: A shelf-stable device for transdermally administering an active pharmaceutical to a patient. The device includes a drug reservoir that contains the drug formulation. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drug reservoir is sandwiched between an upper and a lower solvent barrier film that are made from a material such as a polyester that will not absorb the drug and/or skin permeating enhancing solvent, if any, contained within the reservoir. The drug reservoir and solvent barrier films are encapsulated within a hermetically-sealed compartment that protects the drug formulation from common environmental factors such as water vapor, oxygen, and light which can adversely affect the stability and efficacy of the drug formulation. The hermetically-sealed compartment also prevents the drug formulation from coming into contact with and possibly dissolving the adhesive used to secure the device to the patients's skin.

Abstract: A polymeric multilayer film structure having a high percentage of fillers is disclosed. The fillers are concentrated in a separate filler containing layer having about 5 to about 20 percent of the thickness of the total multilayer film. The filler containing layer is coextruded with a base layer comprising the balance of the thickness of the multilayer film. By keeping the filler containing layer thin, relative to the total film thickness, a multilayer film having a filler concentration up to about 60 weight percent is achievable without significantly adversely affecting the material properties of the multilayer film structure.

Abstract: A dispenser for the topical application of a liquid product. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the dispenser comprises a compressible reservoir, a feed tube, a smooth, substantially non-porous applicator tip, and a tip cover. Compression of the reservoir causes liquid product to flow onto the exposed surface of the applicator tip and form an encapsulating sheet of the liquid product. The liquid product may then be transferred from the applicator tip to the surface to be treated by contacting the surface with the liquid product coated applicator tip.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for separating and removing seeds from a juice/juice sac slurry. In one embodiment of the present invention, a juice/juice sac slurry is deposited onto the upper surface of an inclined, vibrating bed. The bed includes a plurality of ridges and valleys that form channels, and a plurality of pins and dams projecting upwardly from the bed. The high frequency vibrations imparted to the bed cause the juice sacs to travel up the bed to a point where they are collected while the seeds bounce off and tumble down the bed to another point where they are collected and discarded. Also disclosed and described are apparatuses for and methods of extracting fruit meat sections from a whole fruit, and an apparatus for and method of separating sectional membranes from the fruit meat section to produce the juice/juice sac slurry.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for the production of bristle products from plastic. The products comprise a bristle carrier and bristles whose utilization-side ends are substantially unformly rounded and located in a contour differing from that of the bristle side surface of the bristle carrier. The opposite ends of the bristles are fastened to the bristle side surface of the bristle carrier. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the process comprises the steps of: clamping the bristles while their utilization-side ends are in a flat plane; substantially uniformly rounding the utilization-side ends of the bristles while they are clamped in the flat plane; loosening the clamp restraining the bristles and thereafter axially displacing the utilization-side ends of the bristles relative to one another to produce the desired contour; and fastening the opposite ends of the bristles to the bristle carrier.

Abstract: Method of an apparatus for extracting whole juice sacs from citrus fruits by fluid impinging chunks of peeled fruit meat. In one embodiment, a fruit chunk is fed into a fluid impingement chamber that includes a plurality of off-center orifices. High-pressure fluid emitted from the orifices strikes the fruit chunk and spins it such that the fruit chunk's juice sacs are stripped from the chunk's sectional membranes. In another preferred embodiment, a plurality of fluid impingement chambers are incorporated into a high-speed, continuous motion turret. In yet another preferred embodiment, fruit chunks are fed into an inclined tube that includes fluid orifices which emit high pressure fluid. Controlling the fluid pressure, nozzle orifice size, number of orifices, direction of fluid jets, impingement time, and size and shape of the fruit chunks determine how substantially the radial membranes of fruit chunks are stripped of juice sacs without shredding the membranes.

Abstract: Packaging for coffee which is to be packed as quickly as is feasible after roasting, i.e., without undergoing substantial off gassing. The packaging preferably comprises a semi-rigid, substantially gas-impervious container capable of withstanding the pressures generated by the release of carbon dioxide and other gases from the fresh roasted coffee in the container. The semi-rigid container is preferably comprised of plastic and predetermined portions of the container are preferably capable of undergoing limited deformation. This prevents instability of the base of the container, thereby keeping its vertical axis erect, and ensures that the container does not become jammed within the shipping case in which it is transported due to lateral expansion.

Abstract: An easy open flexible bag preferably containing one or more stacks of flexible articles which are compressed in a direction substantially parallel to their thickness. The degree of compression may be as much as 50% or more. In a preferred embodiment, the bag encloses the compressed articles and exhibits a substantially rectilinear shape. The bag preferably includes an integral carrying handle. The side, front, and back panels of the bag are subject to tension imposed by the articles. The top of the bag is closed by forming inwardly folded side gussets and sealing the vertically extending portions of the front and back panels to one another. A continuous line of weakness spanning a tensioned side wall of the bag and continuing into the closed uppermost end of the bag is provided.

Abstract: A package for storing and dispensing potentially dangerous materials, such as medicament tablets or the like, said package being resistant to opening by children but readily openable by adults, particularly adults having impaired manual dexterity of their hands and/or fingers. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the package comprises a bottle, a collar which is secured in place over the uppermost portion of the bottle and a closure which is secured to the finish portion of the bottle by means of complementary screw threads. The collar preferably includes a pair of spring-like pushtabs containing vertical extensions which engage interlocking teeth on the innermost surface of the closure skirt when the closure is fully assembled onto the bottle. To remove the closure, the opposed pushtabs must be manually depressed prior to applying unscrewing torque to the closure to disengage the pushtab extensions from the interlocking teeth on the closure.

Abstract: Device for washing of fabric by machine having at least one filling orifice and ports for progressively releasing a liquid detergent into the fabric during washing. At least one solid product including additive ingredients useful for washing is located outside the main body of the device. These additive ingredients are likewise released progressively during washing. The solid product preferably comprises sodium perborate.

Abstract: The present invention is a passive dosing dispenser for containing a solution which is to be isolated from a body of liquid when the dispenser is at least partially immersed therein. The dispenser is adapted to have a dose of the solution issue from the dispenser in response to the level of the body of liquid being lowered from a first elevation to a second elevation, and to have liquid taken into the dispenser as the level of the body of liquid rises from the second elevation to the first elevation. The dispenser has an internal reservoir which contains the solution, and an inlet/dishcarge passageway which, in use, provides fluid communication between the reservoir and the body of liquid. The inlet/discharge passageway has an intermediate, inverted, generally u-shaped section in which a gas-lock is formed to isolate the solution from the body of liquid.

Abstract: A storage and dispensing package for fluent material capable of bimodal operation. The package has a first mode of operation capable of storing the fluent material without leakage when the package is subjected to unintentional external forces. The package is also provided with a second mode of operation capable of dispensing the fluent material when the package is subjected to external forces intentionally applied by the user. The second mode of operation is also capable of automatically isolating substantially all of the fluent material remaining in the package from the surrounding atmosphere as soon as the intentionally applied external forces are removed. In a preferred embodiment, the package comprises a container, means for applying pressure to the fluent material in the container, a fluid conduit having an inlet end for receiving the fluent material from the container and a discharge end remote from the inlet end.

Abstract: The present invention is a passive dosing dispenser for containing a solution which is to be isolated from a body of liquid when the dispenser is at least partially immersed therein. The dispenser is adapted to have a dose of the solution issue from the dispenser in response to the level of the body of liquid being lowered from a first elevation to a second elevation, and to have liquid taken into the dispenser as the level of the body of liquid rises from the second elevation to the first elevation. The dispenser has an internal reservoir which contains the solution, and an inlet/discharge passageway which, in use, provides fluid communication between the reservoir and the body of liquid. The inlet/discharge passageway has an intermediate, inverted, generally u-shaped section in which a gas-lock is formed to isolate the solution from the body of liquid.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for extracting the meat section and juice from a fruit while minimizing the amount of undesirable flavor components, e.g. peel oil, released from the fruit's peel. In one embodiment of the present invention, whole fruits are fed into a single station extraction apparatus that first cuts a equatorial groove in the fruit's peel while the fruit is rotated. A semicircular coring blade is then inserted into the groove and rotated 360.degree. which severs a spherical chunk of fruit meat from the peel. The small amount of fruit meat remaining on the peel's inner surface is then preferably extracted with a reaming element or fluid jet nozzle. In other particularly preferred embodiments, the grooving, coring, and reaming component mechanisms are incorporated into an indexing turret apparatus and a high-speed continuous motion turret apparatus.

Abstract: An easy open flexible bag containing one or more stacks of flexible articles maintained in a state of compression in a direction substantially parallel to their thickness. For products such as disposable absorbent baby diapers, catamenial pads, incontinent briefs and the like, the degree of compression within the bag may be as much as 50% or more when compared to the uncompressed thickness of the stack of articles in question. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the bag totally encloses the stack or stacks of compressed flexible articles exhibits a substantially rectilinear shape. The bag preferably includes an integral carrying handle. The end panels and at least one pair of either the front and back or the top and bottom panels of the bag are subject to tension imposed by the stack of compressed flexible articles. This leaves at least one pair of panels, preferably the top and bottom panels, in a substantially untensioned condition.

Abstract: A liquid-containing paperboard laminate carton including a one-piece plastic spout having a pair of opposing flanges sealed about an aperture in one of the carton walls to both the innermost and outermost surfaces of the carton wall. The double flange configuration not only forms a mechanically positive interlock between the plastic spout and the carton wall, but even more importantly, isolates the cut edges of the aperture from exposure to liquid either from within the container or from the environment through which the carton must pass from the point of manufacture until it is ready for disposal after its contents have been consumed. The spout preferably includes a liquid passageway having a membrane-type seal across its discharge orifice to provide evidence of tampering and a resealable closure member such as a screw cap or a snap-on closure held in place by means of a mating ring or groove on the spout.

Abstract: An article including at least one segment which is capable of being elastically shirred along at least a portion of its length subsequent to manufacture of the article, preferably by mechanical manipulation of a predetermined portion of the elastically shirrable segment. The predetermined mechanically manipulatable portion of the elastically shirrable segment preferably comprises an elastomeric monomer which is maintained in a prestretched and tensioned condition in the desired direction of shirring. The opposed ends of the elastically shirrable segment in the article are interconnected to one another through the prestretched and tensioned elastomeric member.

Abstract: A self-expanding flexible pouch that can be used as the measuring device for reconstituting a concentrated product contained therein. The flexible pouch includes an extensible stay located in the throat area of the pouch that is biased toward a circular or elliptical configuration but initially held substantially flat in a stressed condition by the pouch's sealed top portion. When the pouch's top portion is removed, the extensible stay expands to its unstressed circular configuration and thereby expands and opens the pouch's throat area. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pouch's bottom section is provided with a pleated bottom gusset panel that is attached to the sidewall panels' inner surface. When the reconstituting fluid is poured into the pouch, the pouch's bottom gusset panel unfolds and drops downward which allows the pouch's bottom section to also expand and assume a substantially tubular configuration.