Abstract: A flip-type album for protectively storing and displaying photos in an orderly sequence. The album has a pair of front and rear covers which are hinged together, the covers having a tray-like configuration such that when the front cover is superposed over the rear cover, it forms an enclosed box therewith. Each tray-like cover includes parallel side walls whose spacing substantially matches the width of the photos, a series of holes being formed at corresponding positions along the inner surfaces of these walls to define a set of bearings at each position. Supported by the bearing sets are flexible swing bars having a length greater than the width of the photos, the opposing ends of the bars being inserted in the bearing sets by first bowing the bars to shorten the distance between the ends.

Abstract: An energy system for powering an electronic watch having a digital or analog time display, the system comprising a primary power source, such as a thermoelectric generator or solar cell, whose output is fed to an energy converter to produce an operating voltage for the electronic circuits and time display of the watch. The system further includes a buffer accumulator that is charged by the energy converter and acts to maintain the operation voltage when the primary source is inactive, thereby providing an uninterrupted supply of operating voltage. The watch also includes a status indicator which senses the prevailing condition of the energy system to produce a signal indicative thereof perceptible to the user of the watch.

Abstract: A method for preserving a large section of biological tissue with a curable polymer such as an acrylic resin by impregnating the large section with the polymer and pressing the impregnated large section between flat plates. These plates are further separated near their edges by an elastomeric material, thereby providing a flat cell in which the opposing cut surfaces of the impregnated large section abut the inner surfaces of the cell plates. Thereafter the cell is filled up with uncured polymer. The polymer is then cured, the plates moving toward each other due to the polymer shrinkage during curing. Finally, the plates are removed. The resulting plastinated sheet is a permanently-preserved large section of biological tissue whose tissue water is completely replaced by a cured polymer, the sheet having a uniform thickness and smooth, even surfaces.

Abstract: A manually-actuated contact switch arrangement for an electronic watch in which an electronic circuit board is mounted on a base plate fitted within a case, the board having a contact extending therefrom which when electrically connected to the case completes a circuit effecting a command or setting function. The arrangement includes a return spring anchored on the base plate. A section of the free end portion of this spring is received in a transverse groove in a push member displaceably seated within a bore in the case whereby the spring imposes an initial tension on the member to maintain it at a predetermined rest position. By depressing the spring-biased push member, the free end of the spring is caused to engage the contact to close the circuit.

Abstract: A process for converting wood stock or other cellulosic material into charcoal, use being made for this purpose of liquid anhydrous hydrogen chloride at ambient temperatures.

Abstract: A utensil assembly constituted by a set of utensils having long handles and differently-shaped implement components for handling or processing food, the utensils being supported at separated upright positions in a rack functioning as an organizer and a carrier for the set. The rack is formed by a rectangular pedestal plate having upturned ends to which a gridwork is secured. The gridwork is defined by a lattice bent into a tube having a rectangular cross section whose lower zone is defined by the adjacent ends of the lattice and is bridged across the upturned ends of the plate at the upper edges thereof. The network of cells created by the parallel upper and lower zones of the gridwork act as receptacles for receiving the handles of the utensils, each handle passing through a respective cell in the upper zone and a cell in the lower zone to rest on the pedestal plate whereby each utensil is supported at a distinct position at which it may be readily selected and removed from the rack.

Abstract: A method and systems based thereon for conducting a multiple velocity traverse of a flow stream cross section of known shape and area to determine flow therethrough. The technique employs any one of the known methods of numeral integration to place the traverse chords and weight the chord average velocities, the technique being applicable to flow streams of any known cross-sectional shape and area without requiring that the chords be parallel.

Abstract: A transfer assembly interposable between a storage tube containing semiconductor devices and a processing station therefor, the assembly effecting a controlled electrostatic discharge of each device taken from the tube to prevent a destructive discharge thereof. The transfer assembly includes an insulating track adapted to receive semiconductor devices from the storage tube, each lead of the device received on the track being engaged by a pair of Kelvin contacts, one of which is connected by a normally-open high impedance relay to an input of a test system for the device, the other being connected to ground through the high-impedance drain and source channel of a field effect transistor. Applied to the gate of the transistor is a ramp voltage causing the channel impedance to diminish at a slew rate producing a gradual and safe bleed of the electrostatic charge carried on the engaged lead. At the conclusion of the discharge cycle, the relay is actuated to connect the lead to the test system.

Abstract: A solid-state electronic timepiece in which the output of a high-frequency time base is divided down to produce low-frequency timing pulses that are applied to a display actuator adapted to selectively control a multi-digit electro-optic display to present the "time-of-day" and "seconds" as well as other aspects of time information such as calendar date and month. The actuator also serves to supply roll-over pulses to advance the display at a rapid rate for setting purposes. In order to selectively render the display effective in any one of the several aspects or in the setting mode therefor by means of a singlmdmanually-operated coding key, a mode selector is provided which is responsive to the key and operates in conjunction with the display actuator. Code signals produced by the key are decoded by the logic system to produce command signals that are fed to the actuator to cause the display to operate in the aspect mode to present the desired aspect or to operate in the setting mode.

Abstract: A bridge-balancing system for measuring minute current flows in devices having an extremely high impedance, the bridge having two sets of opposing arms to define input and output diagonals. A direct voltage is applied to the input diagonals and an amplifier having a high input impedance is connected to the output diagonals to yield an analog signal whose sense and magnitude depend on the degree to which the impedance of the device under test which forms one arm in one set differs from that of an adjustable high-impedance element forming the opposing arm of that set, a pair of fixed matching resistors defining the arms of the other set. The adjustable element is constituted by a field effect transistor operating in its variable resistance region wherein the extremely high impedance presented thereby depends on the applied gate potential.

Abstract: A method of adjusting a picture reproducing apparatus such as for instance a camera, which comprises an original plane, an objective plane, and a picture plane, by means of driving means in the form of direct-current motors. The motors are controlled by means of voltage pulses, each motor being stopped after each supply of pulses, and the width of the pulses being regulated in response to the voltage across the motor in question. The direct-current motor thereby replaces a stepping motor.

Abstract: A disinfectant system for intermingling a disinfectant with an effluent to be treated, such as wastewater, to kill pathogens therein, the system enhancing contact between the effluent and the disinfectant to effect a rapid and efficient disinfection action. The system includes an ejector through which a minor portion of the effluent is pumped to produce a motive fluid which induces a disinfectant therein to produce a concentrated disinfectant fluid. Th ejector terminates in a cylindrical diffuser section having a closed end and at least two circumferential series of orifices whereby the disinfectant fluid is discharged therefrom as high velocity jets which project radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the section.

Abstract: A flowmeter of the variable area type capable of measuring corrosive liquids and gases and including a metal metering tube having a corrosion-resistant PTFE liner. To match the corrosion-resistance properties of the lined metering tube, the float assembly operating within the tube is mainly of FEP construction, the float head of the assembly which engages the inner wall of the metering tube being constructed of tantalum.

Abstract: A magnetic flowmeter which generates a signal proportional to the flow rate of a fluid passing through a pipe to intersect a magnetic field whose lines of flux are substantially parallel to a transverse axis normal to the longitudinal axis of the pipe. The flowmeter includes two electrode assemblies mounted on the pipe on opposite sides of the transverse axis and capacitively coupled to the fluid. The effective coupling capacity of the electrodes in each assembly is such as to render the signal substantially immune to the influence of non-axisymmetric flow profiles.

Abstract: A wall fixture assembly for adhesively mounting an object onto a wall. Though capable of carrying relatively heavy loads, the assembly is readily removable from the wall without impairing the surface thereof. It is constituted by a base sheet and a fixture having a flat foot, the base sheet having an underface coated with a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive whereby the sheet may be pressed against the wall at a desired site and conformed thereto. The flat foot of the fixture whose area is much smaller than that of the sheet is covered with a layer of high-strength adhesive. In installing the assembly, first the sheet is adhered to the wall and conformed thereto, and then the foot of the fixture is pressed against the sheet at the center zone thereof and firmly adhered thereto. A heavy load thereafter imposed on the fixture will not dislodge it from the wall, in that the base sheet interposed between the fixture and the wall acts as a load distributor therefor.

Abstract: A closed-loop fluidic control servo system for a vehicle having an internal combustion engine provided with a variable Venturi carburetor having an axially-shiftable spool operated by a vacuum motor. The system acts automatically through the motor to maintain the ratio of fuel-to-air supplied by the Venturi carburetor to the intake manifold of the system at the optimum value during all prevailing conditions of engine speed and load encountered in vehicular operation. The system includes a vacuum amplifier coupled to the intake manifold and responsive to a differential vacuum signal developed between the pressures existing at the inlet and throat of the Venturi to produce a proportionally amplified vacuum which is derived from the intake manifold vacuum and is a function of the vacuum signal. The proportionally amplified vacuum serves to energize the vacuum motor to shift the axial position thereof in a direction and to an extent bringing about the desired fuel-to-air ratio.

Abstract: A dual output vortex-shedding flowmeter in which a liquid or gas to be metered is conducted through a flow tube having a shedding body transversely supported thereon, the flowmeter being usable in a custody transfer system requiring two independent output signals. Torsionally-supported behind the body and spaced therefrom by a gap is a drag-actuated sensor which includes a pair of parallel legs symmetrically disposed with respect to a spindle forming the fulcrum axis of the sensor, this axis being normal to the longitudinal axis of the tube. In operation, torques are developed alternately in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, causing the torsionally-supported sensor to oscillate at a frequency proportional to the flow rate of the fluid. These oscillations are converted into corresponding electrical signals by a pair of transducers coupled to opposing ends of the spindle to provide two independent outputs.

Abstract: An electronic or mechanical timepiece of the analog display type provided with a gear train for driving timekeeping hands. The gear train includes a center pipe affixed to an intermediate bridge secured to the base plate, a free cannon pinion being rotatably supported on the pipe and having a center wheel mounted thereon which is disposed in the space between the bridge and a section of the base plate, thereby providing a dependable support for the cannon pinion without the need for enlarging the diameter of the center wheel or of the drive pinion intermeshing therewith.

Abstract: An inertial-electrostatic wet precipitator for removing particulate contaminants from a gaseous stream passing through a collector tube having a discharge electrode assembly coaxially disposed therein to establish an electrostatic field between the assembly and a liquid film on the inner surface of the tube which acts to ionize the particles in the gas. Liquid for flushing the particles is fed through a pipe spiralled about the precipitator tube, the pipe terminating in a nozzle ejecting the liquid tangentially into the inlet section of the tube to impart cyclonic motion thereto. As a result, liquid is caused to flow against the inner surface of the tube in a helical path to produce the liquid film which flows toward the outlet section of the tube and is discharged into a sump.

Abstract: A system for rapidly raising the temperature of a product having low thermal conductivity from a cold to a heated state in a manner bringing the internal temperature of the entire body of the product to substantially the same predetermined elevated temperature level. The system includes a chamber having a fluid-permeable product receiving section flanked by input and output plenums, and a main flow loop in which the chamber is connected in a continuous flow path in series with a heater station and an air pump in an arrangement in which air drawn from the output plenum and creating a negative pressure therein is conducted through the heater station and then forced in the heated state through an input line leading into the input plenum to create a positive pressure therein. The resultant pressure differential between plenums causes heated air to flow at high velocity through the section to heat the product therein.