Abstract: An orifice plate is operatively secured to the open front end of an internally chambered piezoelectric ceramic body portion of an ink jet print head assembly material using an adhesive material. In securing these two components to one another, a layer of the adhesive material is applied to the front end of the print head body and the orifice plate is pressed against the adhesive layer. The ultimate bond strength of the adhesive material is substantially increased by the presence of a spaced plurality of bonding holes formed through the orifice plate and aligned with a spaced plurality of bonding openings extending inwardly through the front end of the print head body. As the orifice plate is pressed against the body, substantial portions of the initially applied adhesive material layer are forced into the aligned holes and openings.

Abstract: A Yankee hood is disclosed for use in drying wet paper webs. The Yankee will provide a manufacturer to operate at supply temperatures above 1000.degree. F. at lower total energy costs and at increased production. All major components, supply fans, flow concentrator, air flow equalization plenum and gas burner are consolidated and are mounted directly on the device to eliminate the need for additional space requirements. The hood assembly includes an internal high impingement air system which is supported on a floating structural support member. The nozzle impingement system which incorporates a plurality of nozzle boxes will cover approximately a 240.degree. wrap of a typical Yankee cylinder which will be decoupled from its main support end plate members to allow for increases in cross-machine expansion. The support structure for the externally located direct drive motor is designed to eliminate hood vibrations and operate above the natural building frequency.

Abstract: Each longitudinal section of a concentric direct vent duct structure for a fuel-fired appliance, such as a furnace, is formed using a tubular outer duct having an axially spaced pair of triangular stand-off frame members anchored therein, and a smaller diameter inner duct having an axially spaced pair of ramped external annular locking projections thereon. To assemble the concentric duct section, the inner duct is simply axially inserted into the outer duct. As the inner duct is inserted into the outer duct, a ramped annular side surface on the leading inner duct locking projection resiliently and radially outwardly deflects side wall portions of the stand-off frame members and then permits them to snap back to their original undeflected positions.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for adapting a computer system having a standard half-height bay to operatively receive multi-purpose bay devices therein. In one described embodiment, an adapter is provided which may be conveniently mounted in a standard half-height bay, but which is configured to accept multi-purpose bay devices. The adapter includes standard drive connectors, and connectors which permit the adapter to be effectively used in systems having features such as circuitry permitting hot-swapping of drives and circuitry for controlling battery charging and/or discharging. The adapter also includes circuitry for automatic selection of a power source to supply power to devices installed therein.

Abstract: Operational heat generated by an electronic component in the base housing of a notebook computer is transferred to the back wall of its display housing for dissipation to ambient by a heat pipe disposed in the base housing and having an evaporator portion in thermal contact with the heat-generating component, and a spreader plate structure formed from multiple thin metal layers. The spreader plate structure has a heat dissipation portion disposed within the display housing and held in thermal contact with its back wall, a pickup region disposed in the base housing and held in thermal contact with a condensing portion of the heat pipe, and a bendable dynamic portion positioned between the heat dissipation and pickup portions and extending through the lid hinge area of the computer.

Abstract: An elastomeric compressor mount has a hollow convex cylindrical head portion which must be passed upwardly through a substantially smaller diameter circular opening in a support foot portion of the compressor. To facilitate the passage of the mount head portion through the support foot opening a specially designed clamping tool is provided which has an arcuate support portion and a clamping portion that may be pivoted toward and away from a concave side surface of the support portion. With these two tool portions pivoted toward each other they are inserted downwardly through the compressor foot opening, opened, and then clamped exteriorly onto the mount head portion in a manner deforming it to a generally U-shaped configuration as viewed along the axis of the mount.

Abstract: To install a hard disk drive in a portable computer base housing, an upwardly opening well area is formed within the base housing and is sized to closely receive the disk drive. An electrical connector projects horizontally inwardly through one end of the well area and is operatively mateable with a corresponding connector on the front end of the disk drive. A flexible lowering strap is secured to the rear end of the disk drive. To install the disk drive, its front end is lowered into the well area while holding the strap to keep the rear end of the disk drive elevated. The strap is then used to controllably lower the balance of the disk drive into the well area to prevent installation shock to the disk drive that might occur if it were simply dropped into the well area. The lowered disk drive is then slid along the bottom of the well area to mate the well area and disk drive connectors.

Abstract: A portable computer has a base housing to which a display housing is pivotally secured for movement between open and closed orientations. Extending across a top side opening of the base housing is a keyboard assembly which may be removed from the top side of the base housing. The removed keyboard assembly may be vertically supported on a rear portion of the base housing, to permit access to the base housing through its now exposed top side opening, by means of tabs formed on a rear side edge of the keyboard support plate structure and removably insertable in corresponding vertically extending slots in the top side wall of the base housing. This vertical support of the removed keyboard assembly prevents it from being misplaced, reduces the potential for damaging it by laying it aside on an adjacent work space area, holds the vertically supported keyboard assembly away from the display screen to prevent the keyboard assembly from scratching it.

Abstract: A computer which includes modular structures incorporated therein provides enhanced serviceability. In a preferred embodiment, the computer has a chassis, a lid, a front bezel, an option card module, a system board module, a drive module, and a power supply module. The lid secures the option card module within the chassis. The option card module is removable from the chassis without disconnecting fasteners, option boards, or external cables therefrom. The system board module is received in the chassis and is secured therein by the option card module. The drive module has features which enable storage media devices to be conveniently installed therein and removed therefrom.

Abstract: The base housing of a notebook computer is provided with an EMI-shielded internal bay structure which is configured to removably receive a personal digital assistant (PDA) in a manner mating an electrical connector on the PDA with a corresponding electrical connector within the bay structure. The mating of the two connectors couples a battery charging circuit within the host computer device with a storage battery in the PDA, and also couples a data storage device within the host computer device with a data storage memory area within the PDA. Accordingly, the PDA battery may be charged, and data transferred from the PDA to the host computer device without the previous necessity of using a dedicated external PDA stand and associated separate data transfer and battery charging cabling.

Abstract: A wear runner assembly is attached to a surface of an excavating bucket and serves to protect a portion of the surface from abrasion wear during use of the bucket. The assembly includes a base member, a wear runner member, a pair of bolts and a pair of conical locking nuts. The base member is welded to the surface and has a pair of undercut slots that captively retain the head portions of the bolts, with the bolt bodies being transverse to the surface and projecting outwardly beyond the outer side of the base member. The wear runner member is mounted on the base member by moving the wear runner member toward the base member in a direction transverse to the surface in a manner causing the outwardly projecting bolt body portions to enter and be recessed within a pair of openings formed through the wear member, and also causing projections on the base member to be complementarily received within recesses formed in the wear runner member.

Abstract: The four metal panel portions of an air conditioning unit roof curb have spaced sets of inwardly projecting lanced portions positioned adjacent their ends and defining tab-receiving slots. With the panel portions in a rectangular assembly orientation, specially designed drive cleats are used to lock the contiguous ends of the panel portions together at the corners of the curb. Each cleat has spaced pairs of tabs which, when the cleat is downwardly driven into place on a corner section of the curb, sequentially enter vertically successive pairs of slots in the contiguous panel end portions at the corner. In this manner, only one tab pair and one slot pair need to be aligned with one another before the cleat is driven into place to lock the two contiguous panel end portions to one another, the initial tab pair/slot pair alignment serving to automatically align the successive tab and slot pairs as the cleat is driven home.

Abstract: A disclosed tool provides convenient use thereof. In a described embodiment, a refrigerant charging tool has two separately formed handles pivotably attached to each other. One of the handles has a container piercing member mounted thereon. A spacer is configured for attachment to the other handle, so that a relatively small container may be biased against the container piercing member when the handles are pivoted toward each other.

Abstract: A sheet metal colinear-to-coaxial duct transition assembly for a fuel-fired, direct vent heating appliance is fabricated by providing a one-piece rectangular sheet metal plenum box having a rear wall with first and second circular openings therein, and an open front side. A separate rectangular front wall of the plenum box is also formed and has a circular opening therein. Prior to assembling the plenum box, a rearwardly projecting combustion air stub duct is secured to the rear plenum box wall at the first opening therein, and a forwardly projecting combustion air intake duct is secured to the front plenum box wall at the opening therein. Cooperating side edge portions and flange pockets on the front wall and the open side of the plenum box and then interlocked and crimped to complete the plenum box.

Abstract: A notebook computer has a base housing with an exterior wall area through which an insertion opening extends into an internal bay area adapted to interchangeably receive a first modular device, such as a drive unit, having a cross-sectional area substantially equal to that of the insertion opening, or a second modular device, such as a battery, having a cross-sectional area substantially smaller than that of the insertion opening. A spring-loaded door member blocks a portion of the insertion opening, leaving an unblocked portion thereof having a cross-sectional area substantially equal to that of the smaller module. Thus, when the smaller module is inserted into the bay the door remains in place to cover the portion of the insertion opening unoccupied by the inserted smaller second module. If the larger first module is inserted into the bay instead of the smaller second module, the first module pivots the spring-loaded door member inwardly into the interior of the base housing.

Abstract: A fuel-fired water heater has a combustion chamber disposed above a wall ucture forming a flow path for combustion air being drawn into the combustion chamber during firing of the fuel burner portion of the water heater. A combustion air shutoff system is incorporated in the water heater and functions to sense an undesirably high firing temperature in the combustion chamber and responsively shut off essentially all further air flow to the combustion chamber and thereby terminate combustion therein. In various disclosed embodiments thereof, the combustion air shutoff system includes a damper member movable between an open position in which its permits air flow through the combustion air flow path, and a closed position which it blocks essentially all further air flow through the combustion air flow path. The damper is releasably held in its open position by a eutectic metal fusible link member positioned exteriorly adjacent an exterior wall of the combustion chamber.

Abstract: In a portable notebook computer a specially designed heat pipe-based heat exchanger assembly is used to efficiently dissipate heat from a processor board in the computer's base housing to ambient air surrounding the computer. The heat exchanger assembly includes a graphite fiber-filled outer heat exchanger body which includes a finned first portion that is exposed to the exterior of the base housing, and a second portion disposed within the base housing and thermally coupled to the processor board. The outer heat exchanger body is directly overmolded onto a thermosyphoning heat pipe having first and second longitudinal portions respectively encapsulated within the first and second outer heat exchanger portions. During computer operation, processor heat is conducted to the second heat pipe portions and is transmitted via the balance of the heat pipe to the finned outer heat exchanger portion for dissipation to ambient.

Abstract: A nonintrusive monitoring system is used to determine the onset and duration times of an electrical power outage-caused down condition of a computer without requiring a pre-power outage polling of a running component of the computer and thereby degrading computer system performance. In response to a supply power outage the monitoring system switches on a battery-powered counter device, representatively a digital counter or a real time clock, and then switches the counter device back off in response to resumption of power supply to the computer. A software portion of the monitoring system then detects the count value of the counter device, and utilizes the count value to compute the onset and duration times of the previous power outage.

Abstract: In a computer server orthogonally coupled processor and expansion circuit boards are respectively supported on corresponding vertical and horizontal chassis walls of the server. Upper and lower leveraged disconnect structures are respectively associated with the expansion and processor boards and are operative to disconnect either circuit board from the other circuit board without (1) disturbing the other circuit board, (2) using tools of any sort, or (3) damaging the mating circuit board connectors. The lower leveraged disconnect structure is also operative to recouple the disconnected processor circuit board to the undisturbed expansion circuit board.

Abstract: A method of determining an object's position and associated apparatus provides positional information in a form that may be conveniently communicated to a computer system to calculate the object's position. In a disclosed embodiment, representatively incorporated in a computer keyboard, a method of determining an object's position includes forming an optical grid of overlapping beacons and detecting reflections of the beacons produced by the object when it intersects the grid. The disclosed embodiment utilizes two focused beacons to produce the optical grid.