Abstract: A method for effecting saccharification of raw cellulosic material taken from any available source. The cellulosic material is hydrolyzed by immersing it in a bath of anhydrous liquid hydrogen chloride to yield usable glucose and other products. The cellulosic material may be processed through one or more pre-treatment steps, each acting to enhance the yield of glucose and other products when the pre-treated material is subjected to hydrolyzation by anhydrous liquid hydrogen chloride. The raw material may first be immersed in a caustic solution which swells the cellular structure to render it more reactive and acts to solubilize the lignins and other compounds contained therein, these being washed away to provide a prepared cellulosic material.

Abstract: A probe submersible in a liquid to continuously analyze the concentration of a gas such as oxygen dissolved therein. The probe is constituted by a casing having an open mouth covered by a gas-permeable membrane to define a chamber filled with an electrolyte. Disposed within the chamber is a measuring electrode and a counter-electrode, the front face of the measuring electrode being slightly spaced from the rear surface of the membrane to create a gap that is filled by the electrolyte. Holes are formed in the measuring electrode to permit the passage of electrolyte between the front and rear faces thereof, the rear face being coated with an insulating layer to prevent an electrochemical reaction between this face and the electrolyte whereby the probe is then insensitive to dissolved gas contained in the electrolyte and responds only to gas contained in the liquid being analyzed. The walls of the holes may also be lined with an insulation layer for the same purpose.

Abstract: An optical device insertable through a peephole in the thick wall of a chamber such as a bank vault, making it possible for an observer to obtain a panoramic view of objects dispersed within the interior thereof. The device is constituted by an optical system composed of three lens assemblies disposed serially along a common optical axis. The first assembly has wide angle characteristics to develop in front of this assembly a virtual image of the objects in the interior. The second assembly has an elongation nearly equal to the thickness of the wall, the second assembly having convergent characteristics to derive from the virtual image a final image which is formed adjacent the exit of this assembly. The third assembly has accommodation characteristics to permit an observer's eye located behind it to see the final image with an apparent diameter essentially equal to that at which the initial image can be seen at the entry of the second assembly.

Abstract: An album for "instant" positive photos of the type in which the film is held in a mat forming a frame therefor and having upper and lower margins. The album is constituted by a set of mounting boards which are hinged to a carrier card at stepped positions thereon or which are bound together in a loose-leaf stack. Each mounting board has a band of pressure-sensitive adhesive material extending across both the front and back faces at corresponding positions thereon, the bands being protectively covered by removable liners. In installing photos in the album, the upper rear margin of a photo is pressed onto the front face band of the board to adhesively secure the photo thereon, a second photo being secured in the same manner to the back face band whereby each mounting board carries a pair of photos in back-to-back relation.

Abstract: A highly compact electromagnetic flowmeter unit interposable between the flanged ends of upstream and downstream line pipes for metering fluid passing through the line, the unit being subject to compression by these flanged ends to effect a fluid seal. The flowmeter is constituted by a non-magnetic metal spool of high strength whose inner surface is lined with insulating material to provide a flow conduit for the fluid to be metered, the spool also serving to withstand the compressive forces to which the unit is subjected as well as the fluid pressure. Surrounding the spool and concentric therewith is a cylindrical housing fabricated of ferromagnetic material, the housing being preferably formed by complementary half-pieces which are interconnected and include end plates which join the corresponding ends of the spool to define an inner chamber.

Abstract: A probe operable in conjunction with an electrometer having a high input impedance to provide an instrument for measuring air ion flux density. The probe structure is such that its presence in the atmosphere in which a measurement is being carried out will not give rise to perturbations in the localized electric field and therefore has no perceptible effect on the accuracy of measurement. The probe is constituted by a metal target to which the ions give up their charge, the target being supported at the end of a barrel of dielectric material by a conductor attached thereto and extending axially through the barrel to a contact at the rear of the barrel which is connected to the line of a shielded coaxial cable which couples the target to the input terminal of a grounded electrometer, the shield of the cable also being grounded. The surface of the barrel is coated with a layer of semi-conductive material that makes contact at the lower end of the barrel with the grounded cable shield.

Abstract: An automatic control system for supplying a fuel-air mixture to an internal combustion engine through a Venturi structure conducting throttle-controlled incoming air to the intake manifold of the engine. Coaxially disposed in the casing of the structure is a cylindrical booster whose internal surface has a Venturi configuration to define a primary passage. Interposed between the booster and a ring having an external Venturi configuration mounted on the casing in an axially shiftable spool whose internal surface has a Venturi configuration to define a secondary passage having a variable throat between this surface and the spool. A tertiary passage is defined between the outer surface of the spool and the ring, incoming air passing through all three passages.

Abstract: A converter capable of accurately and rapidly converting an input signal whose frequency varies as a function of a parameter being metered into a bit parallel number for manipulation by a digital computer. The incoming signal, before being applied to the converter, is shaped to produce a continuous train of square wave periods, each beginning with a leading edge. A measurement is made during a time interval which need not be synchronized with the input signal and is independent of its frequency, the interval having a fixed duration which is a predetermined multiple of a given unit of time.

Abstract: An integrator for totalizing with respect to time an input signal representing a process variable being metered to provide a total reading for a given period. The integrator includes a drop-out circuit functioning to abruptly reduce to zero the signal fed to the totalizer when the input signal falls below a predetermined level where it no longer accurately reflects the variable. The input signal is applied to a duty-cycle converter that cyclically generates a rectangular wave whose ON period has a duration which is a function of the input signal, the higher the signal level, the shorter the OFF period in the cycle. Clock pulses at a constant frequency are normally supplied to a totalizer during the ON period. A drop-out counter functions to count the clock pulses during the OFF period, the number of pulses counted representing the duration of this period.

Abstract: A system for generating chlorine dioxide for use as a disinfectant in water or wastewater treatment, the system output including a percentage of chlorine at an acceptably low level, thereby avoiding the deleterious effect of chlorine in the disinfection process. The system is provided with a source of chlorine gas and a source of aqueous sodium chlorite, both of which are fed into a reactor to generate chloride dioxide therein. The output of the reactor is coupled to an ejector operated by a water stream to create a vacuum which draws chlorine dioxide from the reactor into the ejector to dilute the chlorine dioxide before it is supplied to a process being treated. The resultant negative pressure in the reactor acts to draw the chlorine gas therein from the source through a vacuum regulator which maintains the flow of chlorine gas into the reactor at a constant rate and acts to cut off the supply of chlorine in the absence of negative pressure.

Abstract: A pressure-responsive electric switch assembly provided with an elongated pneumatic tube of elastomeric foam material impermeable to air, one end of the tube being plugged and the other having a sleeve therein whose inner end is covered by a membrane to thereby seal the tube. The tube has a relatively thick, deformable wall whereby a slight manual pressure applied thereto gives rise to a substantial change in the internal volume of the sealed tube to dilate the membrane. A microswitch disposed within the sleeve has an actuating element operatively coupled to the membrane such that when manual pressure is applied to the tube, the switch is actuated.

Abstract: A control system to prevent the accumulation of excessive cellular material in a fluidized-bed reactor wherein a waste liquid to be processed is conducted upwardly at a velocity conducive to fluidization through a bed of particles which function as a carrier for the growth of the material. The system includes a separator column whose low end section extends toward the fluidized bed and whose high end section extends above a head of liquid effluent which lies on the bed, or is sealed and located below the surface of liquid effluent, the diameter of the high end section being greater than that of the low end section. In the course of reactor operation, the cellular material on the particles continues to grow, causing the bed to expand until its level reaches a point indicative of excessive growth.

Abstract: An inclination gauge that includes a bar placeable against a surface to be gauged to determine the degree to which the surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal or vertical. Mounted on the bar is a gravity-sensing potentiometer coupled to a balancing circuit to produce an analog output voltage which has a null value when the bar is placed against a perfectly horizontal or vertical surface and which has a magnitude and polarity or phase that depends on the extent and direction of the deviation from the norm when the surface being gauged is inclined. The analog voltage is converted into a corresponding digital value that is applied to a digital display.

Abstract: A game or puzzle for pre-school children which exploits both the olfactory and visual senses. The game is formed by a playing board having printed thereon at distinct positions pictures of different odoriferous objects such as fruits having characteristic smells. Superimposed on each pictured object is an identifier constituted by a major circle and a minor circle concentric therewith, the circles being radially divided into colored segments. Each identifier has a distinctive color pattern that differs from every other identifier. The periphery of the minor circle is scored to define a punchout disc, the surface of which is coated with a myriad of minute, rupturable capsules containing an odor-producing substance whose smell is the characteristic odor of the related object. The discs are removed from the playing board to create sockets therein, each of which is surrounded by a major circle ring whose color pattern matches that of the removed disc.

Abstract: A manifold valve assembly for selectively interconnecting a row of ports to control the flow of fluid in the lines coupled thereto. The assembly includes a valve block in whose upper face is formed a shallow well. Extending from the well to a plane parallel to the lower face of the block is a row of cylinders whose lower ends define valve seats that communicate with ports projecting from the lower face. A channel indented in the well serves to laterally interconnect the mouths of the cylinders with each other. Seated in the well and sealing the mouths of the cylinders is a pad of elastomeric material from which is projected a row of hollow, axially-expandable nipples that extend into and are coaxially disposed within the cylinders, the nipples all having a normal length that falls short of the valve seats. Mounted above the valve block is an actuator block having a row of tubes therein in axial alignment with the cylinders. Supported in each tube is the retractable push rod of a spring-biased click mechanism.

Abstract: A protective system interposed between a d-c power supply and an external load to isolate the supply from the load should the current drawn therefrom exceed a predetermined threshold value, the system distinguishing between a transitory overload and a continuous overload condition. The system includes a current-sensing resistor connected in series with the supply and the load and a comparator responsive to the voltage drop developed across the resistor to produce an output signal which activates a relay to cut off the delivery of current to the load only when the current exceeds the threshold value. Also included is a sampling circuit which upon activation of the relay functions after a brief sampling interval to automatically de-activate the relay and thereby reconnect the supply to the load, causing the comparator to again determine whether the existing current drain is still excessive, in which event the relay is again activated and the sampling cycle repeated.

Abstract: A collapsible terrarium assembly which is inflatable to assume a desired configuration for transparently housing a potted plant or other article to be protectively enclosed. The structure is constituted by a disc-like base and a dome attachable thereto. The dome is formed by an open, flexible plastic envelope whose rim is secured to a coupling ring which is joinable to the base to form a hermetically-sealed enclosure, the envelope including a valve for inflating the dome.