Abstract: A purge arrangement for welding backup of a seam between two surfaces selected for welding together along respective runs which define the seam includes a ventilated tubeform and an adhesive tape attached for forming a seal across the back of the seam and sealing in the ventilated tubeform. The ventilated tubeform adapted for flooding with a purge gas by a source thereof. The adhesive tape's seal across the back of the seam traps the flood of the purge gas in the interspace between the tape and seam and ultimately flushes the as-yet un-welded portions of the seam with the purge gas.

Abstract: An aerial pen raised and lowered by a driven land vehicle has sidewalls defining an open bottom, a retractable platform for a targeted animal to stand on, a livestock head gate, and a retractable crowding gate cooperatively arranged with the deployed platform and head gate for securing the targeted animal for aerial carrying. Use of the aerial pen is like practicing, on a large-scale, a box-trap style ‘pursuit-and-pounce’ of cattle catching, albeit at an unhurried pace of pursuit, followed by an unhurried pounce. The box-trap style capture might be likened to the activity of ‘pouncing’ or, more fancifully, likened to the activity of netting as practiced by insect collectors with aerial nets (eg., butterfly nets). Presumptively, the livestock animal is sick or otherwise slowed, which permits this activity to be practiced without harm to the animal.

Abstract: A method of producing a countertop upon a workspace furnishing such as floor cabinets by casting a polymer-modified cementitious casting compound thereupon has some of the following steps. Given the workspace furnishing, temporarily attaching edging forms or flow checks around all the free edges of the top deck thereof, both of which the forms the and flow checks operate to check the flow of the casting compound at least to the height of a given rise. Following that, pouring a polymer-modified cementitious casting compound over the countertop to the height of the given rise and as checked within the edging forms and flow checks. The edging forms have depending-flange relief cavities that descend below the plane of the deck that give the hardened casting compound an appearance of a virtual thickness that disguises in part the actual thinness of the rise over the deck.

Abstract: A flute-wiping auger cleaner has a laterally-shearing shackle, an axial track spaced parallel to the auger; and a traveling carriage on the track for supporting the shackle. The shackle includes a series of angularly-staged wiper blades to project into the flute of the auger and centrally stabilize the blades on the turning axis of the auger. The shackle is biased not only to pressure the wipers inwards towards the auger's cylindrical sidewall but also allow the shackle to open slightly against the force of the bias in event a blade cannot dislodge a difficult clump of fouling material in the flute. In that event, the blade is pushed out and then pressured back in as it rides over the difficult-to-dislodge clump. Spinning the auger causes the blades to travel the length of the helical flute while the shackle travels axially on the track.

Abstract: A dough package has a sheet of dough and another sheet of a non-adhesive separator media cooperatively wound in a spiral assembly which is snugly fit inside a rigid container to protect the soft spiral assembly during the time that the package is an article of commerce. The sheet of separator media might be twice the size of the dough sheet in order to allow folding in about half into two flaps for covering both sides of the dough sheet while wound in the spiral. During domestic use, one flap might serve to separate the dough sheet from the countertop as the extra flap can be folded out to provide extra non-adhering working space. Cookie cutters, edible complements, and rolling pin handles might also be optionally pre-stocked with the dough package.

Abstract: A valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) battery cell (2,40) has positive and negative plates (10,11,41,42) separated by separator media (12,43) and held together under pressure. The separator is adapted to support therein an electrolyte. Each plate has a first single or plurality of tabs (12,13,46) on a first side and a second single or plurality of tabs (15,16,47) on a second side of the plate, each tab being connected to a busbar (17,18,49,50) to form positive and negative busbars on each of the first and second sides of the plate. The cell may be alternatively configured in a spirally-wound arrangement or in a prismatic arrangement of flat plates. The cell may be constructed of a plurality of such positive and negative plates. A VLRA battery (1, 40) may be constructed of one or a plurality of such VLRA cells, in which case the busbars of neighboring cells are connected by welded joints. The busbars are serviced by at least plural pairs of positive and negative terminals (24,25,33,34,52,53,54,55).

Abstract: A writing board has a convertible stand. Left and right standards pivot at the writing board's sides by a sliding linking mechanism, and their free ends are formed with hooks so that a selection of the following can be achieved. That is, the writing board might be hung on a door with the hook ends of the standards swung up over the door's top edge. The standards might be swung down to stand the writing board off the floor as a floor stand. The standards' linked ends might be slid up high along the sides of the writing board, and swung back a little, to prop the writing board in the manner as a book easel. Whereas a floor stand manner of standing the writing board puts it between about waist and shoulder high, a book easel manner rests its bottom edge on a desk or podium.

Abstract: A pontoon boat's cover system has includes a rib-cage structure to support a fabric cover formed by hollow poles flexed into low arches and anchored into opposite brackets on the left and right top (hand or side) rails of the pontoon boat. Each bracket has a zig-zag pin and a U-base. Each zig-zag link originates as a bottom axle changing into a central column changing into a cantilevered stake. Each U-based cups a top rail of the boat with a bottom axle inserted through holes in the U-base across and over the top rail it cups. The central column seats in a saddle of one of the U-base's arms to stabilize the zig-zag pin the front to back direction. A locking collar slides over the saddle with the central column seated therein in order to retain the zig-zag pin from unseating from the saddle.

Abstract: A folding case is provided for transferring hair-coloring chemicals to a selected bundle of hair. The folding case has a pair of opposing shallow compartments that are adapted for containing a pre-charge of color-base hair-coloring chemicals in one compartment and a pre-charge of activator therefor in the other compartment. Peel-away films are provided to cover and seal each compartment in order to seal in the respective pre-charges therein not only to keep the respective pre-charges separate and apart from each other and avoid pre-mature interaction therebetween but also to keep each pre-charge fresh and preserved during transit through a supply chain from a place of manufacture or production to a remote later-time of and place for end-utilization.

Abstract: Exhaust apparatus for exhausting “dirty” exhaust gases accept a core flow of such exhaust gases and combine that with an annularly-surrounding “rooftop” flow of ambient air for diluting the exhaust gases as well as expelling the diluted flow in a forcibly expelled plume in order to ensure that the “effective” expulsion distance of the expelled diluted flow is at least the physical length of the exhaust apparatus plus the gains gotten from efflux velocity and flowrate.

Abstract: A camouflage material comprises a plurality of parallel strips of camouflage fabric attached side by side laterally across a substrate and extending longitudinally along the substrate. The strips have a plurality of longitudinally spaced edge strips extending laterally from side edges of a central portion. The edge strips have a flat body that extends outwardly from the central portion to an outer end. The edge strips are formed so that at lest some of the edge strips deflect outwardly and downwardly to give the fabric a three-dimensional contour. The three-dimensional effect is achieved by employing enlarged bulbous ends on some edge strips or by orienting the edge strips at an upward inclined angle, or both.

Abstract: A support for manual grease guns has a base and lever-restoring mechanism. Grease guns conventionally have a pumping head with a barrel and lever joined thereto for cycling through pumping and restoring strokes between restored and depressed extremes. The restored extreme has the lever and barrel flared apart. Conversely, since the pumping stroke closes the flare, the depressed extreme has the lever brought alongside the barrel. The base has ground-engaging feet as well as clamps for clamping the grease gun tightly by the barrel, preferably with the lever projecting away for pedal-style depression in a generally vertical plane by a user stepping on it. The lever-restoring mechanism links the lever to the base, and yields under the user's step while the lever moves through pumping strokes, but restores the lever toward the restored extreme therefor as soon as the user takes his or her step off the lever.

Abstract: A glass keypad for an automatic premise-monitoring alarm system of remote sensors linked to a control panel has a screen defined by a peripheral edge spacing inboard and outboard faces and allowing a flush or closely gapped mounting to a wall. There is also operative circuitry and devices as well as a diminutive housing that conceals the circuitry and devices and is mounted to the peripheral edge and/or outboard face. Thus, the glass keypad has display mode, where a display is illuminated on the screen including illuminated keys for entry of inputs to the control panel, as well as a sleep mode in which the illumination is switched to reduced power such that the keypad display is invisible. The reduced power state is off or very low such that any color, texture or design on the wall shows through, the glass keypad thus self-camouflaging itself.

Abstract: A three-dimensional camouflage fabric is produced in a multi-head quilting machine by sewing a multiplicity of transversely spaced, elongated strips of relatively narrow fabric on a relatively wide web of a substrate fabric along laterally spaced lines of attachment positioned between the side edges of the strips. The strips are attached to the substrate in a longitudinal wrinkled condition, giving the strips a three-dimensional contour. The side edges of the strips are formed in an irregular pattern, with edge patterns of adjacent strips being different. The edges of the strips desirably overlap so as to enhance the three-dimensional appearance. The strips can be wrinkled by feeding the strips at a faster rate than the substrate. This can be achieved by a spring feeding mechanism or by sewing the strips at an inclined angle to the substrate.

Abstract: A welding apparatus is disclosed for use during welding of a tubular metal nozzle to a tank's metal domed cap. The nozzle extends longitudinally between a base end for mating to the tank's cap at an aperture therein and a spaced-away terminal free end. Typically, the nozzle's longitudinal axis is aligned oblique to a normal axis for the domed cap through the aperture thereof. Such welding apparatus involves a clamping arrangement having an actuator extending between a lid and a spaced, opposed backup plate. The backup plate seats against at least a marginal periphery of the domed cap's inner concave surface surrounding the aperture thereof. The lid covers the nozzle's terminal free end. Releasably actuating the actuator increases clamping pressure between the lid and backup plate, thereby clamping the backup plate opposite the weld seam for at least purge purposes, and perhaps light-duty heat-sink purposes.

Abstract: A laterally- and longitudinally-elongated sheetform of optical material has a core and spaced broad surfaces provided with superficial light-confining measures flanking the core. At least one broad surface has an array of converging lenses, each adapted for collecting and introducing incident light rays into the core unimpeded by the superficial light-confining measures, and converging the rays onto focal points within the web. A counterpart array of reflective elements are embedded in the web at the focal points, and arranged to deflect the collected, converged rays onto transmission paths through the web generally intermediate the broad surfaces. A light-emission port provided in or by the web which is also rendered substantially free of impedance by the superficial light-confining measures. That way, collected light is generally confined between the broad surfaces, except for emissions out the emission port.

Abstract: A method for making a sex determination in avian hatchlings involves the following activities. A process line is equipped to process an endless plurality of hatchlings. The process line has an ultrasound inspection station for the hatchlings. The ultrasound inspection results are analyzed to find the presence of given sex-determinative structure for each hatchling. If the given sex-determinative structure is found then a first category assignment is made. The hatchling is sorted according to its category assignment. The category assignments might number two or three or so including positively-identified one sex, positively-identified other sex, and default to waste for any of various reasons.