Abstract: A wafer processing boat is provided with parallel slots that support each wafer at a slight angle with respect to vertical so that the wafers lean by gravity in a uniform manner and are thereby arranged in spaced parallel relationship. This enables the tolerances within the slots to be quite large with respect to the width of the wafer edges thus facilitating insertion and removal of the wafers while minimizing wafer damage and increasing wafer processing uniformity.

Abstract: A roller chute apparatus for packaging a flexible plastic bag filled with liquid in a box has four stacks of rotatably supported vertically spaced rollers. The four stacks extend a substantial depth into the box around the inside of the box sidewalls forming two pair of mutually opposing stacks. A first pair extends above the open top of the box and cooperates with the second pair in guiding the bag into the box. The second pair extends above the top of the box with opposing stacks being mutually spaced a greater distance than opposing sidewalls of the box, thereby forming a funnel-like opening with the first pair. A driver roller is substantially located above and adjacent to the top of the box forming an angular transition between each of the portions of the second pair extending above and below the top of the box.

Abstract: A positioning control servo uses a digital feedback control system and an analog feedback control system, both simultaneously generating control signals to a servo summing node. The digital system derives negative feedback from velocity values which are raised to any programmed exponential value according to a linear velocity profile. The analog system feedback signals provide a non-linear velocity profile and fine position adjustment and dominates control at the servo end of travel. Interface control is provided from multiplexing a single digital feedback control system with a plurality of servo systems. The interface control selects a unique velocity profile in a digital system for each particular servo system. No switching is required between the digital and analog systems because both have continuous input to the servo summing node.

Abstract: The frames and guide blocks for a dental articulator are precisely machined in three dimensions to guarantee interchangeability with other frames and guide blocks and accuracy of articulator movement with respect to dental casts mounted thereon. Test blocks for checking accuracy of the articulator are provided. Also disclosed is a plate removeably mounted on the guide block having a curve thereon indicating the curvature of an opening in the guide block.

Abstract: A protractor-comparator type tool is used to determine characteristics of a recorded path of a patient's jaw movement for purposes of setting a dental articulator.

Abstract: A soccer ball practice machine includes a pair of juxtaposed, oppositely rotating wheels for propelling a soccer ball toward a soccer player to facilitate the practice and instruction of a wide variety of soccer skills. The orientation of these wheels can be selectively varied to permit the soccer ball to be propelled in an infinite number of directions. In addition, the distance separating the rotating juxtaposed wheels can also be adjusted to accommodate soccer balls of varying diameters and can be automatically increased to prevent damage to oversized balls due to engagement by the wheels. A large hopper includes a rotating auger which successively feeds soccer balls in the hopper into a flexible feed tube and down a rigid ball chute where they are engaged by the wheels and propelled outwardly.

Abstract: An ice skating attachment can be interchangeably attached to conventional roller skate foot plates so that a foot receiving device on which such a foot plate is mounted can serve both as a roller skate or as an ice skate. The ice skating blade of the attachment is mounted on the foot plate by means of a pair of support members which are constructed in accordance with standard foot plate dimensions. Thus, the upper surfaces of the support members conform to the lower surfaces of standard foot plates and are attachable thereto in substantially the same manner as most roller skate trucks. The attachment is inexpensively manufactured by an injection molding process during which the ice skating blade is secured to the support members to form a unitary integral device that requires no assembly.

Abstract: A sampling device for measuring the quantity and distribution of young fish life very close to the ocean floor, having a pair of large wheels and a set of small rollers to enable the sampler to traverse rough ocean bottom terrain.

Abstract: An alcohol fuel burner and decomposer in which one stream of fuel is preheated by passing it through an electrically heated conduit to vaporize the fuel, the fuel vapor is mixed with air, the air-fuel mixture is ignited and combusted, and the combustion gases are passed in heat exchange relationship with a conduit carrying a stream of fuel to decompose the fuel forming a fuel stream containing hydrogen gas for starting internal combustion engines, the mass flow of the combustion gas being increased as it flows in heat exchange relationship with the fuel carrying conduit, is disclosed.

Abstract: Relative axial motion of a pair of strut members is converted into rotation of a shaft which drives a rotatably mounted inertia element. Rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction drives a second rotatably mounted inertia element. The inertia elements are interconnected by a coil spring with the result that the inertia element driven directly by the shaft drives the other inertia element. At a predetermined acceleration, the inertia element driven by the spring will lag, and this lagging motion is used to actuate a braking action to limit the acceleration.

Abstract: A sealed container provides with a plug valve which employs a heat responsive band having one end attached to the side of the plug which is on the outer side of the plug when the plug is positioned in the container wall. The other end of the band extends around the edge of the plug holding the edge away from a valve opening in the wall of the container. This inner end of the band is connected through a wire to a fusable pin centrally positioned on the inner side of the plug. At the desired time, the fuse melts releasing the wire and the ban shrinks or retracks, releasing the edge of the valve member allowing it to seal against the container wall.

Abstract: A pair of closed loop spring elements such as Belleville washers stacked in opposing relation within a resilient U-shaped jacket so that the jacket legs are spread by the spring elements to form sealing surfaces when compressed between two members such as an engine head and block.

Abstract: A circuit for controlling the power supplied to a lamp includes a sensor, located at the lamp, which measures the portion of the lamp's output which is reflected from an illuminated area. This sensor is connected to a sensing circuit which measures the reflectance of the illuminated area. Using this reflectance measurement, the total illumination incident on a work space, both from the light source and from other illumination sources, is determined and this total incident illumination is adjusted by adjusting the power supplied to the light source to provide a controlled illumination. The ability to measure reflectance of the illuminated area using a sensor at the light source itself permits the manufacture of a light source which will self-adjust to illuminate a work area at a desired incident illumination level, without adjustment of the light after installation, and without a requirement that the light source be adjusted if the reflectance of the work area changes.

Abstract: A magnetic tape de-gausser includes a pair of electromagnets which are arranged to project a magnetic field through a magnetic tape reel to magnetically erase the magnetic tape. The electromagnets are mounted to be movable so as to tightly accomodate various size tape reels between the electromagnets. Structures are provided to control the separation between the electromagnets, to prevent a tape reel from destructively contacting an electromagnet, and to control the movement of a tape reel in rotation towards and away from electromagnets.

Abstract: A machine for the manufacture of a panel file for the storage of flat, flexible data elements is herein disclosed. A sheet of flexible resilient material is unrolled from an arbor. The material is cut into strips and rolled onto reels. The strips are substantially narrower than the depth of the pockets to be formed in the panel file. The reels are mounted on a strip aligning mechanism so that as the strips are unloaded from the reels they are in a parallel overlapping relationship. The strips are then pulled through an accumulator and placed in a heat sealing die. In the heat sealing die, the strips are joined to each other proximate the ends thereof to form a layered panel of overlapping pocket entrances. Also in the heat sealing die, a pocket forming sheet is attached to the back of the layered panel of strips.

Abstract: A device for increasing the motive force of a sail acting on a sail craft and at the same time decrease the risk of having the craft turned bottom up after a capsizing are obtained by fastening to the uppermost portion of the sail (3) a certain amount of flexible buoyancy foam (8) which is shaped such as to form together with the mast (1) and the sail (3) an efficient airfoil profile having a smooth contour. On account of its thickness, this airfoil profile will further counteract the short circuit flow of air from the pressure side to the suction side of the sail. The buoyancy foam (8) has at the same time a volume which is large enough to keep the sail (3) and the mast (1) floating at the water surface after a capsizing of the craft. In order to make the folding of the sail (3) easier prior to putting it into a sail bag, the buoyancy foam may be split up into a plurality of buoyancy zones separated by folding zones.

Abstract: A non-invasive, real time blood pressure measurement system includes a cuff connected to a pump, a cuff pressure sensor, and a detector to sense the times when the cuff stops or starts blood flow in a user's body appendage. The pump cyclically varies the cuff pressure from above systolic to below diastolic levels at a relatively fast rate compared to the heartbeat rate enabling blood pressure measurements to be made quickly in sequence. Electrical circuitry is provided to make the blood pressure measurement by correlating the cuff pressure with the detected times. This system is compatible with major types of automatic sphygmomanometric systems.

Abstract: This invention relates to the electrochemical machining of integrally formed prosthetic heart valve structures in which both the structural integrity of the valve and the blood flow through the valve is improved as a result of the integral formation of the valve structure. In particular, such heart valves comprise a ring and a pendant structure, such as a strut, for supporting the opening and closing of a discoid valve occluder. Integral formation of the strut with the ring permits the cross-sectional shape of the strut to be machined without overheating and distortion to conform to a teardrop shape having favorable fluid-dynamic characteristics thereby improving the flow of blood through the valve across the strut. The integral formation of the strut with the ring further results in the elimination of the weld fillet between the strut and the ring, thereby permitting the height of the ring to be reduced, which further improves the fluid dynamic characteristics of the valve.

Abstract: A solid phase assay which specifically detects C-fixing ICs by reacting ICs or aggregated gammaglobulin in normal serum with matrix-bound F(ab')2 anti-C3 and measuring the amount of Ig by radioimmunoassay or enzyme-linking techniques, and means for carrying out the assay are disclosed.