Abstract: The invention is a water well filter. An outer pipe is concentric with an inner pipe. Each pipe has a plurality of water passage apertures. The outer pipe is shorter than the inner pipe, but long enough to cover the apertures of the inner pipe. The outer pipe is attached to non-apertured portions of the inner pipe by sealing rings disposed at an upper and lower end of the upper pipe so as to form a gap between the pipes. The sealing rings are welded onto the inner and outer pipes. A granulated filter material fills the gap. The filter granules may be bonded to each other as well as to the surfaces of the pipes. A nylon mesh cover is disposed on the outer surface of the inner pipe to prevent filter granules from entering through the inner pipe apertures. The inner pipe has an internally threaded portion at one end and an externally threaded portion at the other end so as to allow multiple inner pipes, and thus multiple water well filters, to be attached end to end.

Abstract: A structure and process are disclosed in which IC chip-containing layers are stacked to create electronic density. Each layer is formed with a cavity in which at least one IC chip is placed, electrically connected, and then covered to enclose the chip. Full tests to establish known good quality are performed on individual layers containing enclosed chips. Within each layer horizontal conducting traces connect with conductor-containing vias, in order to carry electrical signals vertically from layer to layer, and also to connect to a ball grid array on the bottom of the stack, the entire surface of which is available for I/O ports.

Abstract: A container for protecting a fragile food product during transport and display is constructed from sheet material such as paperboard or the like. The container is formed by folding the sheet material into an open-ended box sized to accommodate the fragile food product inside. End flaps extending from the sides of said box are folded angularly inward and preferably lock in an inwardly folded position to secure the fragile food product inside the container. A retention band is preferably placed around the container and cinched by heat shrink or other method to further secure the end flaps in their inwardly folded position and reduce the movement of the fragile food product therein. Foot tabs are preferably included on the bottom of the container to allow the container to be shipped or displayed upright on a flat surface while maintaining clearance between the fragile food product and the flat surface.

Abstract: The invention relates to a fiber-optic coupled diffuse reflectance probe that is adapted to detachably connect to a bifurcated fiber bundle. The probe includes one or more lenses for imaging the bundle onto a target with more space between the bundle and the target than otherwise possible. The collecting lens adjacent to the bundle preferably has a reflection stop which diverts reflected light away from the bundle to minimize the problem of stray light. The preferred probe also uses an objective lens to increase the distance between the bundle and the target. The rays emerging from the collecting lens will diverge or spread because of the finite diameter of the transmitting fibers in the bundle.

Abstract: A sheeter head having a pair of counterrotating internally-driven sheeter rollers is disclosed. The sheeting rollers each include an independent internal drive motor and gear box affixed to a nonrotating shaft, along with a nonrotating idle shaft on an opposite end of the roller. The speeds of the drive motors are controlled by an external device such as an inverter speed control. The nonrotating shafts, in conjunction with the absence of any external drive mechanism, allow for sanitary operation, easy clean-up, and a simple and efficient adjustment mechanism for varying a pinch point between the rollers. The preferred adjustment mechanism includes a fixed front roller and horizontal slide plates connected to the axles of a back roller, the slide plate having pegs which slide in associated grooves. One of the grooves is preferably wider than the other to help prevent binding during an adjustment operation.

Abstract: A shutter door assembly assembled primarily from extruded plastic components is provided. The shutter door assembly includes an outer rectangular frame surrounding a pivotally attached vaned panel door. Various side, top, and bottom legs of the frame and door are constructed of a hollow extruded plastic and are securely mounted together to form a rigid, durable shutter door. The resulting shutter door has the general look and feel of an actual wooden door.

Abstract: Problems in counting and stacking fried food products such as tostadas are solved by an improved counter/stacker device in which tortilla food products ride a first moving belt through a photoelectric counting station. After being counted the product drops into a stack retainer shaped to hold the product. A series of stack retainers are arranged along the length of a flexible, intermittently moving, continuous belt. When the counting station signals that the required number of product have been counted and deposited into a stack, the flexible belt bearing the stack retainer is rapidly advanced to bring an empty stack retainer into position beneath the counting station. The stack retainers ensure that the product stacks do not shift and are stationary for a period of time, thereby facilitating manual or automatic packaging of the product.

Abstract: An oven with slide-out transfer guides is provided for use in conjunction with multiple conveyors ovens to provide quick and convenient accessibility to an oven's interior in case of product transfer difficulties. A slidable rail assembly is mounted in the oven, which also has an access port for transfer guide egress and ingress, and a transfer guide with opposed lips forming a slot which mounts the transfer guide on the rail assembly. When access to the oven's interior is necessary to remedy a product transfer problem, the oven of the present invention allows the transfer guide to slide along the rail while still supported by same, and said transfer guide can be partially removed from said oven without the need to turn off the oven. In this way, obstructions can be cleared quickly without significant down time, thereby saving the user both time and expense.

Abstract: A split-draw vertical blind system uses a plurality of slat carriers, the slat orientation of which is controlled by a spline rod which passes through the carriers. Each carrier bears wheels to enable the carrier to glide smoothly along tracks provided by an enclosing headrail. In addition, a master carrier which a user may move by means of an attached wand is connected by hollow rivets to a stabilizer assembly which bears extra sets of wheels to contact the tracks and the inner surfaces of the headrail top to prevent binding of the master carrier. A horizontally-oriented closed loop of cord passes through bores on either side of the carriers and around pulleys or U-shaped components at the ends of the headrail. The cord loop is attached on opposite sides to the two center carriers, one of which is the master carrier. When the master carrier is moved by means of the wand, the other center carrier is moved in the opposite direction by the cord loop.

Abstract: An improved pinch-point gap adjustment mechanism for a dough sheeter having two counterrotating rollers, one of which is horizontally moveable, is disclosed. The pinch-point gap adjustment mechanism incorporates a lever-action arrangement to provide mechanical assistance to an operator adjusting the pinch-point gap. The lever-action incorporated by the current invention distributes input forces for pinch-point gap adjustment across the height of the moveable roller. The disclosed invention allows for smoother pinch-point gap adjustment such that binding of the slider plates is minimized. The preferred sheeter head assembly permits an operator to release the front roller from the same operator location as where adjustments to the pinch-point gap are made.