Abstract: An improved spring clip retainer for a telescopic coupling such as the coupling between a fuel filter and a fuel line. The retainer comprises a first pair of opposed spring fingers which grasp and hold the male portion of the coupling and a second pair of opposed spring fingers which grasp and hold a longitudinally spaced portion of the female coupling element. The second set of fingers are longer than the first and are provided with a self-aiming, one-way latch which is readily operated by squeezing the longer fingers toward one another after association with the small diameter female fuel line coupling component. Through this operation the retainer can be effectively permanently associated with a fuel line subassembly which is joined to the fuel filter in a subsequent operation.

Abstract: A self-cleaning coal bypass and debris separation grid assembly has a sizing/segregating grid for particulate material such as coal, and a debris bypass grid downstream to bypass the coal to a coal crusher and separate any debris which might damage the crusher. Clearing mechanisms are provided for both the sizing/segregating grid and the debris separating grid. The clearing mechanism for the debris separating grid is preferably a rotating clearing comb having arcuate fingers yieldably mounted to a rotating axle shaft. The arcuate fingers are preferably adjustably tensioned to the axle shaft.

Abstract: A multi-band antenna includes conductive tubular section that provides the major physical support for the antenna and functions as the major element of the antenna on the long wavelength band and a half wavelength center feed dipole with a choke located at the end of the tubular section that serves and the short wavelength antenna. The half wavelength dipole includes a coaxial cable disposed within the tubular section extending a quarter wavelength of the short wavelength band beyond the tubular section. A solid conductor of a quarter wavelength forms an extension of the central conductor of the coaxial cable. A rigid dielectric cylinder accommodates the extension of the coaxial cable and the solid conductor providing physical support and rigidity. A choke includes a short between the outer conductive shield of the coaxial cable and the tubular section is located one quarter wavelength from the remote end of the tubular section.

Abstract: Digitized stereo image pairs are analyzed by first aggregating the images to produce several levels of lower resolution images, bandpass filtering each of the images by applying a Laplacian filter to edge enhance the features, matching the features of low resolution images while generating a disparity image which contains elevation information, repeating the feature matching at successively higher resolutions and creating progressively improving disparity images, and extracting the elevation data from the final disparity image. The feature matching procedure uses an estimate of feature disparity to help locate a feature in one image which corresponds to a feature in another image and is applied iteratively at each level of resolution. Dilation of disparity data from matched points to neighboring unmatched areas produces a comprehensive disparity image which aids in more efficient feature location on the next pass.

Abstract: An in-line filter assembly is provided of a type having a housing divided into inlet and outlet chambers by a filter membrane having its periphery fluid-flow-sealed within the housing, the filter being readily disassemblable so that the filter membrane can be removed for identification or analysis of the material filtered from the fluid during use of the filter.

Abstract: A resistive strain gauge pressure sensor including upper and lower housings coacting to define a pressure chamber within the housing A board member is clamped between the housings and defines a diaphragm portion which extends across the pressure chamber to divide the pressure chamber into upper and lower chamber portions. All of the circuitry of the sensor is screen printed onto the lower planar face of the board member including the various resistor elements of the strain gauge assembly, the various elements of the conditioning circuit receiving the output of the strain gauge assembly, and the various further leads required to connect the circuitry elements to the terminals of the sensor. The sensor terminals are provided by a plurality of connector pins extending downwardly through the board member for connection at their respective lower ends to the circuitry provided on the lower face of the board member.

Abstract: A thermally deformable denture base adapted to be fitted to an edentulous ridge and the surrounding tissue surfaces and a method of producing and fitting complete dentures incorporating the thermally deformable denture base. The denture base has an inner surface and an outer surface and is formed by a molding process from a doughy mixture of a plasticized liquid monomer and a methyl methacrylate polymer powder in a 1:3-3.5 ratio. When heated to a temperature above about 135.degree. F., the denture base is malleable and may be molded in the mouth of a patient to attain an approximation of the tissue surfaces. The denture base may be incorporated into a complete denture by curing an unpolymerized resin material denture liner to the inner surface of the denture base and affixing teeth to the outer surface of the denture base.

Abstract: A device for supporting fish hooks and the like from a fishing line such that fish are prevented from swallowing the hook more than mouth deep. The device includes a vertical shank suspended from the fishing line, a lateral guard member attached to the shank, and a support for attaching the fish hook at or below the level of the guard structure. In one embodiment, the lateral guard is a removable guard wire which is frictionally locked to the shank upon insertion through tubular lateral supports. In a further embodiment, the invention includes a swing limit retainer to prevent the fish hook from snagging on the guard wire.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for buffing the balls of ball joint studs. The apparatus includes a frame structure including a base; an index table; a plurality of fixtures spaced circumferentially about the index table and each arranged to rotatably mount the shank portion of a stud, with the ball portion exposed, so that the stud may rotate about its lengthwise axis; an index drive mounted on the base and operative to indexingly move the table so that each fixture is moved successively through a loading station, a buffing station, and an unloading station; and first and second buffing wheels mounted on the frame structure at the buffing station with their respective peripheries arranged to buffingly engage opposed portions of the spherical surface of the ball of the stud as the ball is moved between the wheels by the index drive.

Abstract: A pressure cylinder in which the piston is hollow and the pressurized fluid is introduced into the hollow of the piston. The cylinder housing includes a core member with supply and exhaust ports. An area between the rear wall of the housing and a rear wall of the piston is exposed to atmospheric pressure at all times, elliminating a need for seals on the outside surface of the piston, and allowing for the piston to be exposed to large transverse forces. Proximity switches are provided in a slot in the upper wall of the cylinder housing to detect the arrival of the piston at its limit positions and a pin secured to the cylinder housing engages a slot in the outer periphery of the piston to guide the forward and rearward movement of the piston within the cylinder. A slot may be provided in the upper wall of the cylinder housing for receipt of a work positioning member secured to the outer periphery of the piston.

Abstract: An intensifier cylinder including a body structure defining a first bore, a first piston structure including a piston mounted in the first bore and a piston rod secured to the piston and extending at its forward end through an end wall of the body structure, a second bore defined in the body structure, a second piston structure including a second piston mounted in the second bore and a second piston rod secured by the second piston and movable at its forward end into the first bore upon stroking of the second piston in response to the introduction of pressurized gas into the second bore to seal off and act upon hydraulic fluid in the first bore to produce an intensified force on the first piston structure.

Abstract: A sealable electrical connector includes a housing having a passage therethrough which is open at both ends. A portion of the length of the passage defines a seal retaining region and includes an undercut edge. The seal retaining region receives an elastomeric seal ring which engages, and is retained by the undercut edge. A grip member which includes projecting electrical contacts is affixed to one end of the housing so as to seal the passage, to further retain the seal ring therein and to support the electrical terminal into the passageway. When a mating connector is inserted into the passageway for contact with the terminal therein, the sealing ring provides a sliding, seal with the mating connector against environmental conditions. Also disclosed is an improved ring seal providing uniform resistance to the insertion of a mating connector.

Abstract: A single remote control transmitter can advantageously control three units including a cable tuner/descrambler, a video recorder/player and a television receiver. One of these three units, preferably the video recorder/player, is a master unit. It receives remote control signals from a hand held remote control transmitter. The master unit is initialized using on screen prompts to learn the remote control signals for the other units which are slaves. The prompts ask the user to operate various controls on the remote control transmitter of the proposed slave unit, while receiving and analyzing the remote control transmissions. This permits the master unit to build a translation table for control of the slave units. The master unit may include a read only memory of remote control codes for a number of possible slave units. The master unit can abort the initialization process if it recognizes the requested remote control transmission is according to one of the remote control codes stored in the memory.

Abstract: A positive connector latch to be used on a connector resiliently engagable with a corresponding structure on a matable connector. The latch includes a latch assembly formed of a connector housing having at least one external surface, and a cantilevered latching beam extending therefrom. The latching beam has a latching member disposed thereon for engagement with the corresponding structure of the matable connector, the latching beam being resiliently deflectable in a direction toward the housing to release the latching member from the corresponding structure. An elastomeric pressure pad is associated with the latch assembly and disposed between the latching beam and the housing to resiliently bias the latching beam into positive connection with the corresponding structure, while not interfering with normal function of the latch.

Abstract: A modular electrical connector assembly for use with the wiring systems of vehicles. The assembly includes a plurality of modular blocks, each having one or more tapering mortises formed on the sides thereof and a plurality of tubular, singled walled, double tenon wedges which are insertable into the mortises to assemble the blocks together. Preferably, wedges are formed with an upwardly tapering ramp disposed on each tenon which terminates in an upwardly depending stop surface for engagement with a downwardly depending stop surface formed on the mortises of the modular blocks to prevent relative verticle motion between the blocks and the wedges.

Abstract: A pair of stilts are provided. Each of the stilts has a resilient flexible foot which can be hinged or integral with the lower stilt leg portion. The resilient flexible foot has first and second projections defining a channel that receives a third projection from the lower stilt portion. The third projection has a horizontal slot to register with vertical slots in the first and second projections. In another embodiment the stilt further includes a shin protector.

Abstract: A lightweight, flexible ski pole which is virtually indestructible comprises a filament-reinforced, resin-matrix composite shaft having a diameter of about 0.05 in or less and a tensile strength of about 140,000 or higher. The shaft may be severely bent without damage or deformation. A surface coating of acrylic paint is applied by dip coating. A metal tip is adhesively applied, as are hand grip and basket. The shaft may be solid or hollow, straight or tapered near the lower end. If hollow and tapered, the tapered end is reinforced with a short reinforcing rod.

Abstract: The polygon engine of this invention is a technique for rendering a computer graphic display using a compressed data format. A display list of objects for the next frame is converted into a list of spans for each horizontal line of the display. The polygon engine converts the list of spans for all objects into a set of run-length-encoded bit map lines for the next frame. Conflicts between overlapping objects are resolved based upon a depth value of the corresponding objects. Any remaining unspecified pixels are filled with a predetermined background color. Lastly, the polygon engine updates the frame buffer to correspond to this set of run-length-encoded bit map lines, preferably by comparing run-length-encoded bit map lines for the next frame with those for the current frame and writing only changed pixels into the frame buffer. An alternative embodiment of this invention uses compressed data in the form of trapezoids whose parallel sides are horizontal.

Abstract: The compression system includes a series of pipelined data processors. Each processor has an associated memory. The body of digital data is applied serially to the first processor in the chain. The first processor analyzes pairs of data elements in its incoming signal to detect the occurrence of previously non-occurring sequences and stores those sequences in its associated memory. The output signal from the processor identifies the storage position in its associated memory of each pair of data elements in its input, whether or not those sequences have previously occurred in the data stream. Subsequent processors work with storage location signals only. Each processor provides a single output location signal for each pair of signals in its input. Each processor also determines the number of times that each incoming sequences has occurred and stores that number in association with each stored pair.