Abstract: A milking method and machine are disclosed which serve to prevent back-spray of milk particles onto the teat tips of the animal's udder. The individual milk streams issuing from the milk orifices of the teats during intermittent application of suction to the teats are directed into a path leading to a milk collector. In this path, the streams flow in milk tubes which open into an elongated hollow connector that, in turn, communicates with a conduit. The discharge ends of the milk tubes are positioned in the connector at two or more locations which are spaced from one another, as considered in the direction of milk flow through the connector. An air stream is admitted into the connector to flow in a direction toward the conduit so as to accelerate the milk and prevent droplets of milk from being sucked back into the milk tubes during intermittent application of suction to the teats.

Abstract: A clutch disc, especially for use in friction clutches of motor vehicles, has two subassemblies one of which is held against rotation with respect to the hub and the other of which is held against rotation with respect to the friction linings. The limited angular movement between the two subassemblies is opposed, at least in part, by energy accumulators and friction. An element participating in the generation of friction is a washer-like part which is under the action of axial spring force and is pushed, on the one hand, against a part of the one subassembly and, on the other hand, has a form fit effective against angular movement with a part of the other subassembly. The form-fitting connection is established by engagement of at least one contour which changes in the axial direction in wedge- or cone-fashion and is provided at least on one part forming the form-fitting connection with at least one countercontour provided on at least one other part forming the connection.

Abstract: A vessel for the storage of cooled liquids, particularly beverages, is surrounded by a thermally insulating jacket. First and second cooling coils or analogous devices are interposed between the vessel and the jacket and surround the vessel from opposite sides of the same over 50-75% of its surface area. Water refrigerated to about 0.degree. C. is circulated through these cooling coils.

Abstract: Apparatus which transports filter rod sections from a maker to a processing machine has a pneumatic sender which admits a file of sections into the inlet of a pneumatic conveyor whose outlet delivers sections to a receiver wherein the file of sections is converted into a row which is admitted into the magazine of the processing machine. A first photoelectronic detector monitors the travel of sections at the inlet of the conveyor and a second photoelectronic detector monitors the sections in the region of an accelerating device forming part of the receiver and serving to separate successive sections of the file from each other.

Abstract: Apparatus for simultaneously severing plural parallel filter rods which issue from an extruder and move axially at the same speed has a knife mounted on a holder which is rotatable about an axis extending in parallelism with the axes of the rods. The knife holder moves along a circular path in a plane which is parallel to the axes of the rods. The knife holder and suitable guides for the rods are mounted on cranks whose crankshafts rotate about axes making a right angle to the direction of movement of the rods and causing the knife and the guides to move back and forth in and counter to the direction of axial movement of the rods. The shaft for the knife holder is rotated at twice the speed of the crankshafts and the cutting edge of the knife severs all of the rods in immediate proximity of the guides during each second revolution of the holder.

Abstract: A calender roll has a hollow cylinder which surrounds or is surrounded by a stationary support. That surface of the support which faces the cylinder has circumferential and axially parallel grooves for the coils of electromagnets which are energizable independently of each other or simultaneously and serve to prevent flexing and/or other deformation of the cylinder when the latter rotates and contacts a running web of paper, textile material or metallic or plastic foil. Those sections of the aforementioned surface of the stationary support which are surrounded by the coils constitute portions of circumferentially extending arcuate or annular pole faces and the polarity of each circumferentially extending pole face is constant. However, the polarities of neighboring pole faces the different, i.e., pole faces which constitute south and north poles alternate with each other, as considered in the axial direction of the calender roll.

Abstract: A tobacco stream which contains shreds and short tobacco is formed by moving an endless elevator conveyor with equidistant comb-like vanes first past a first magazine which contains short tobacco whereby the slender triangular prongs of the vanes remove and entrain batches of short tobacco and thereupon past a second magazine which contains shreds whereby the prongs of the vanes augment each batch by adding thereto an oversupply of tobacco shreds. A first paddle wheel with comb-like blades is adjacent to the path of the vanes to remove the surplus from successive batches, and a second paddle wheel serves to remove the surplus of shreds from augmented batches. Such batches are then converted into the stream which is trimmed by one or more knives which form short tobacco. The thus obtained short tobacco is fed to the first magazine.

Abstract: A receiving station at the outlets of several pneumatic conveyor pipes which discharge discrete files of axially moving filter plugs accommodates a separating unit immediately downstream of the outlets and an orientation changing unit immediately downstream of the separating unit. The separating unit defines discrete lanes, one for each file of filter plugs. In each of the lanes, the filter plugs of the respective file are converted into a series of axially spaced filter plugs which continue to move lengthwise, and the filter plugs of each series are delivered into discrete upright ducts of the orientation changing unit wherein each series is transformed into a row whose filter plugs move sideways.

Abstract: A processing bath is accommodated in a container having a pipe which communicates with the interior of the container at two different locations of the latter. The bath is circulated through this pipe and a pump for circulation of the bath is provided in the pipe. Several tubes extend into the bath and each tube has an outlet opening in the region of the inlet end of the circulation pipe. The outlet openings of the tubes are all located at different levels below the surface of the bath. The tubes are respectively connected with supply pumps which, in turn, are connected with respective sources of concentrates and a diluent required to maintain the strength of the bath within predetermined limits. A sensor senses the amount of material processed in the bath and causes the supply pumps to pump the concentrates and diluent into the bath in dependence upon the amount of material processed.

Abstract: One side of the web which is subdivided into uniting bands in a filter tipping machine is coated with a water-containing adhesive. A certain percentage of water is expelled from the adhesive prior to application of uniting bands to groups of coaxial plain cigarettes and filter plugs by a heating device whose heating action upon the adhesive on the web and/or uniting bands is regulatable in dependency on the speed of transport of the adhesive-coated web and/or uniting bands toward the location of attachment of uniting bands to the respective groups.

Abstract: In a friction clutch having a housing and levers mounted on the housing for actuating at least one pressure plate, the levers engaging the pressure plate through a connecting linkage, the levers being formed of at least two sheet metal members and at least two connecting members firmly linking the sheetmetal members to one another, the levers being disposed radially to the housing and carrying, in vicinity of the inner radial end thereof and between the sheetmetal members thereat, a run-up member responsive to the action of an actuating member for actuating the pressure plate.

Abstract: Apparatus for transporting, agitating, rotating and treating discrete objects, such as metallic parts, has an endless band which is trained over two sets of rollers and forms a trough between the two sets of rollers. The band is driven by at least one set of the rollers and is tensioned at a level below the trough. The objects are admitted into one end of the trough and move up and down in response to movement of the band as well as in a direction toward the other end of the trough, either because the trough slopes downwardly toward the other end or under the action of a helix in the trough. The helix can form part of the band, or it can constitute a discrete part which is rotated in the trough. One or more impellers and/or nozzles are provided above the trough to spray solid or liquid treating agents onto the objects.

Abstract: The magazine of each of an entire battery of filter tipping machines receives filter rod sections by way of two discrete pneumatic conveyors whose inlets receive filter rod sections from discrete sources by way of pneumatic propelling units and whose outlets admit files of axially moving filter rod sections into discrete receiving units having devices for converting the files into rows and for forcibly feeding the rows into spaced-apart portions of the respective magazines below the upper surfaces of the supplies of filter rod sections in such magazines. Each propelling unit can be started or arrested independently of the associated propelling unit, and each receiving unit can feed filter rod sections at less than maximum capacity and/or intermittently.

Abstract: A clutch plate for use in the friction clutch of an automotive vehicle has a driving unit with two spaced apart discs which are riveted to each other and one of which carries friction linings adapted to be driven by the flywheel when the clutch is engaged, and a driven unit which is connected to the driving unit by prestressed springs so that the driving unit can turn relative to the driven unit within a given range. The driven unit has a hub which drives the input shaft of the transmission and carries a flange between the two discs. An elastic washer is inserted in prestressed condition between the flange and one of the discs to damp the movements of the two units relative to each other, at least within a portion of the aforementioned range.

Abstract: Apparatus for stacking pads with spiral binders has a reciprocable and pivotable turn-around device which inverts each second pad of a file of equidistant pads before the pads reach a stacking platform. At the stacking station, the pads are arrested by an adjustable stop which locates inverted pads in a first position and the non-inverted pads in a second position so that the binders of successive pads in a growing stack are located at the opposite sides of the stack. The turn-around device is arrested in response to detection of the absence of pads in the path along which the pads move toward the stacking platform by a photocell which further transmits signals to the mechanism for moving the stop so that the absence of one or more pads does not affect the array of pads in the stack on the platform. A level detector monitors the height of the stack on the platform and transmits signals for stepwise lowering of the platform.

Abstract: A filter rod making machine wherein a rotary brush which is installed in a housing normally atomizes successive increments of a stream of liquid plasticizer which is supplied thereto by a variable-delivery pump at a rate matching the speed of transport of a permeable tow of filamentary filter material through the housing so that the housing confines a quantity of residual plasticizer and the tow thereafter continuously withdraws atomized plasticizer from the housing at the rate at which the pump supplies liquid plasticizer into the range of the brush.

Abstract: A camera wherein the synchronizing switch which fires the flash unit can be moved by a first lever which gradually increases the f/stop or by a second lever which constitutes the armature of the shutter-closing electromagnet, depending upon whether the first lever reaches a predetermined position corresponding to a maximum f/stop prior to deenergization of the electromagnet or vice versa. The respective lever then moves a mobile contact of the synchronizing switch against a fixed contact. The switch is opened in response to cocking of the shutter.

Abstract: In a stationary wave-motion-driven power generator station, a rotatable cylindrical steel structural body is mounted, with its axis substantially horizontal. The ends of the axle of the body are located in bearings which can move up and down to immerse the lower portion of the body in the sea. Vanes are provided on the body to cause the latter to be rotated by wave motion and are in the form of annular prominences around the body having outwardly-decreasing approximately triangular cross-sections.

Abstract: A device for suspension of tennis rackets or the like has a flat, plate-like, elastically deformable body one end portion of which forms a hook so that it can be attached to a rod in a manner similar to that of attachment of clothes hangers to rods in closets or the like. The major portion of the body is formed with a U-shaped slot which surrounds a tongue-like inner section and is surrounded by a U-shaped outer section. The free end portion of the inner section carries a projection at each of its sides, and such projections can be inserted into or otherwise engaged by tennis rackets or other commodities which require suspension. Prior to suspension of a racket or the like, the inner section is flexed out of the plane of the outer section. The racket is then suspended on the projection which faces the outer section.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine wherein each of several groups of cylinders rotates a discrete crankshaft which, in turn, rotates a discrete camshaft. When the engine is operated at partial load, a single group of cylinders is in use to rotate a first crankshaft. Prior to starting a second group of cylinders, the corresponding second crankshaft, which is coaxial with the first crankshaft, must be accelerated to the angular velocity of the first crankshaft and the second crankshaft must assume a predetermined angular position with reference to the first crankshaft to thereby ensure a proper sequence of firing of the cylinders. This is accomplished by installing a positive-engagement clutch between the first and second crankshafts and a friction clutch between the corresponding camshaft.