Abstract: An excitation system for a magnetic flowmeter provided with a flow tube through which the fluid to be metered is conducted, the tube having a pair of electrodes mounted at diametrically-opposed positions thereon and including an excitation coil to establish a magnetic field in the tube which is normal to the tube's axis and to a transverse axis passing through the electrodes, the fluid intersecting the magnetic field to induce a flow rate signal in said electrodes, the system including a full-wave rectifier coupled to a commercial power line source which produces sinusoidal a-c power whose wave periodically crosses a zero line. A switch is interposed between the rectifier and said excitation coil.

Abstract: A protective arrangement operating in conjunction with a multiplexing system adapted to convey data from a plurality of low-impedance analog sensors to a central digital receiving terminal. Each sensor is coupled by an input line through a noise-rejection filter that includes a capacitor connected across the line to a commutator serving to sequentially sample analog data derived from the sensors and to apply the samples to an analog-to-digital converter. The protective arrangement functions to detect the occurrence of an open circuit in any one of the sensors and to produce an indication of this abnormal condition, the arrangement including a like plurality of photon-couplers, one for each sensor. The light-emitting diode of each photon-coupler is energized by a power source common to all sensor circuits. The light emitted by the diode is intercepted by a photo-transistor connected through resistors of high value across the related sensor input line to define a network generating a small offset-current.

Abstract: An ignition electrode assembly for a gas-fired oven burner formed by a cylindrical casing having a longitudinal slot occupied by metal ribbons to define a port through which gas is emitted. Included in the assembly is an electrode unit which projects into the oven interior through a bushing in a cover plate mounted on a wall of the oven, the unit having a tip on the free end thereof. The unit is pivoted on the bushing by means of a holding collar received in the bushing and having an external handle whose movement is limited to allow the electrode unit to be swung from a normal first position to a temporary second position. In the first position, which is settable, the spacing then established between the electrode tip and the port ribbons creates a spark gap therebetween capable of sustaining a spark discharge when a high voltage is applied across the gap. In the second position, the tip makes direct contact with the port ribbons to initiate the spark discharge.

Abstract: A tool for use in conjunction with molding pieces adapted to mount a fabric sheet to cover a wall, the pieces being attached along the perimeter of the wall to be covered. Each piece includes a storage channel provided with a longitudinally-extending inlet adjacent the perimeter of the wall to receive the selvage tail of the fabric sheet to be stuffed into the channel to support the fabric. The tool is formed by a flexible flat blade extending from a handle, the forepart of the blade being curved to an extent sufficient to permit its entry into said inlet and its passage into said storage channel whereby when the forepart engages the tail, it is capable of pushing it through the inlet into the channel.

Abstract: A process control system for multiplex operation of several process control loops. The system includes process input and process output units, analog and computer operation units and operator's interface stations, the exchange of process information between these units and stations being carried out by a time-sharing technique. The system is provided with a first data trunk through which process information through the data trunk is carried out in synchronism with address signals supplied to the address trunk in accordance with a cyclic control routine. Also included is a second data trunk which makes it possible at one's option to modify the cyclic control routine to select a desired mode of operation, the analog and computer operation units and the interface stations signalling whether operation in the manual control, analog control, or control mode is possible. State signals are generated at the operator's interface stations to the respective units to control their signal transmitting or receiving state.

Abstract: A push-pull isokinetic exerciser composed of inner and outer telescoping tubes whose ends have handle pieces attached thereto. The inner tube defines an oil-filled chamber which encloses a piston whose actuating rod is attached to the handle end of the outer tube. The piston divides the chamber into right and left sections provided with valves that function alternately to allow oil to pass from the right section to the left section when the tubes are brought together by the handle pieces in a compression stroke, and that allow oil to pass from the left section to the right section when the tubes are pulled apart in an expansion stroke. The motion in the compression and expansion strokes is linear and affords uniform resistance to motion throughout the entire length of each stroke, so that the exercising effect is even and free of strain.

Abstract: A vertically-mountable dispenser unit for storing and individually dispensing a large number of small boxes. The unit is formed by a frame including a pair of side walls having corresponding-positioned, inwardly-directed ridges thereon that divide the unit into parallel channels for receiving the boxes. Each channel has a discharge opening at the lower end thereof which is terminated by a ledge whereby the boxes are retained in the channels by the ledges and may be laterally withdrawn therefrom. The unit is fabricated of clear thermoplastic material and is created from a flat injection-molded blank that is thermally folded to assume the desired configuration.

Abstract: Swim trunks formed by a piece of fabric contoured to define a waist and a pair of leg sections, the fabric having a side seam extending between the waist and the lower end of one leg. The seam is interrupted to form a slit whose edges are secured to the complementary tapes of a zipper and to the sides of a pocket. In its normal state, the pocket is interposed between the inner surface of one leg of the trunks and a loose liner suspended from the waist and conforming to the contours of the trunk. The zipper includes a slider having a double pull tab. The outside tab serves to open and close the pocket in its normal mode when the pocket is usable to carry keys and other small items. The inside tab serves to open and close the pocket when it is pulled inside out to function in the reverse state as a carry bag into which the trunks are stuffed. One side of the pocket is provided with a pair of eyelets through which a string is looped, the bag being held from the string in the reverse mode of the pocket.

Abstract: A gas-shielded arc-welding torch constituted by a holder section having a barrel adapted to retain a tungsten electrode and a handle section which supplies electric current to the holder section as well as an inert gas thereto, the holder section being bendable relative to the handle to assume any desired angular working position. Included in the handle section is a conductive metal helix of solid wire, one end of which is connected by a tubular metal coupler to the barrel of the holder section, the other end being connected by a pipe to a hollow electrical connector to define a current-supply line extending from the connector to the barrel.

Abstract: A resistance-to-current converter in which a sensing resistor, such as a resistance thermometer bulb for sensing changes in temperature, forms an arm in a resistance bridge which is periodically excited by a switching circuit interposed between a power supply and the input junctions of the bridge. The voltage produced at the output junctions of the bridge during the "on" and "off" excitation states are separately detected. The detected signal obtained in the "off" state is subtracted from that obtained in the "on" state to produce an output signal from which there is eliminated the error component resulting from a leakage resistance path coupled to said sensing resistor.

Abstract: A coffee maker assembly constituted by a decanter for boiling water and a separate container for producing with some of this water a highly-concentrated coffee brew, the container having a cap permeable to liquid and gas. The container is seatable in an inverted position over the decanter whereby steam generated by boiling water penetrates the cap and functions to express the highly-concentrated brew from the container into the water to intermingle therewith to produce a brew of the desired concentration.

Abstract: A weight and belt assembly which may be strapped on a tennis racquet at any desired position along the shaft thereof in order to modify the balance of the racquet or to serve as a training aid. The assembly consists of a weighted plate having a pair of parallel slots therein and a belt which is threaded through the slots to support the plate. A buckle loop is attached to one end of the belt and a tab to the other, the tab having a uniform pile of stiff hook-shaped fibers thereon which constitute the male component of a fabric fastener whose female component is formed along the surface of the belt by randomly dispersed fibers. To strap the assembly to the shaft at a desired position thereof, the shaft is encircled by the belt with the plate lying against one side thereof, the tab being pulled through the buckle loop on the other side of the shaft and being folded over to cause the male component to engage the female component, thereby holding the assembly tightly on the shaft.

Abstract: A toy, game or other play device wherein a trackway, slide, maze or other play surface is coated with super-hydrophobic material that is highly water repellent, whereby a drop of water applied thereto forms into a ball that can then be manipulated by a player to carry out predetermined play activities. Alternatively, a tiny vehicle or other toy body having a hydrophilic coating thereon may be wetted with water and placed on the super-hydrophobic surface whereby the slightest force applied thereto causes the body to skim at high speed over the surface.

Abstract: A high-resolution video filling system making use of a standard low-resolution magnetic tape video recorder for the storage and retrieval of documentary information. In the storage mode, each document to be filed is scanned by a high-resolution video camera to produce a video signal representing a single image frame having a predetermined number of scan lines that is a multiple of the number of scan lines in a standard low-resolution image frame. The image frame signal from the video camera is divided into a series of fields each having a like number of scan lines, the fields being sequentially applied to the recorder to produce on the moving tape thereof a set of parallel transverse tracks one for each field, the set representing a single image frame.

Abstract: A two-wire transmission system for a vortex-type flowmeter adapted to measure the flow rate of fluid passing through a conduit by generating fluidic oscillations giving rise to periodic pressure pulses whose repetition rate varies in accordance with flow rate. The system includes a pressure-responsive resonator element that is included in the tuned circuit of a high-frequency carrier oscillator whose frequency is determined by the normal resonance characteristics of the element in the absence of the pulses. The pulses applied to the element cause the oscillator to yield a carrier that is frequency-modulated in accordance with the repetition rate of the pulses to produce a frequency-modulated carrier that is demodulated to yield an output signal whose frequency is a function of flow rate. This signal is converted into an analog voltage that is conveyed over a two-wire transmission line to a remote station.

Abstract: A reader for a distributed-optical microfiche wherein each page of recorded intelligence is constituted by a reduced scale image that is dissected to form a pattern of dispersed bits. The several patterns representing the recorded pages are interlaced to produce a multi-page microfiche that is read back by irradiating and enlarging only a selected pattern of dispersed bits and projecting this pattern onto a screen. The reader includes a lens matrix formed by an array of individual lenslets, each optically aligned with a respective bit in the selected pattern to enlarge and project this bit onto a screen zone. Interposed between the lens matrix and the screen is an apertured melding mask having an array of openings corresponding to the array of lenslets and optically aligned therewith.

Abstract: A hot air oven for heating food-loaded cartridges, each constituted by a stack of sealed trays comtaining pre-cooked meals nested within an open carton whose side walls have holes therein to admit heated air. The oven includes a rotating turn-table for supporting an annular array of such cartridges, the side walls of which define a hollow center core. A heater assembly produces heated air which is blown by a propeller into the hollow core, some of this air being forced through the holes of the cartons to heat the food in the trays. The remaining portion of the heated air passes through a flow passage below the cartridges to be drawn upwardly by the suction force of the propeller to create an air curtain around the array, thereby creating a toroidal flow pattern which envelops the annular array. The oven is divided by a shield placed within the hollow core into a hot zone and an extra hot zone, the cartridges of the turntable travelling cyclically through these zones.

Abstract: A fuel burner adapted to produce a stable, non-contaminating blue flame throughout a broad operating range. The burner includes a combustion zone into which is directly fed the combustion air. Air-atomized liquid fuel is fed into the combustion zone through a Venturi whose constricted throat communicates by way of a feedback passage to the combustion zone, whereby the ejector effect produced by the atomized fuel passing through the Venturi causes a portion of the hot combustion gas generated in the combustion zone to be drawn into the throat to intermix with the atomized fuel therein, thereby pre-vaporizing the fuel to insure full combustion thereof.

Abstract: A collapsible terrarium assembly which is inflatable to assume a desired configuration for protectively housing a plant or other organic material in a controlled environment adapted to promote plant growth or to stimulate organic activity. The structure is constituted by a disc-like base and a replaceable dome attachable thereto by means of a coupling ring. The dome is formed by a flexible plastic envelope whose rim is provided with an annular skirt that is interposed between the coupling ring and the base to define a hermetically-sealed enclosure. The envelope is provided with a two-way valve, which in one position makes it possible to exhaust the air from the enclosure, and in another position to inflate the dome with an inert gas to create a controlled environment.

Abstract: A continuous analyzer for accurately measuring the free chlorine residual in a chlorinated water supply having an ammonia content which gives rise to a combined chlorine residual whose bactericidal effectiveness is poor as compared to free chlorine. The analyzer includes an amperometric cell through which a sample from the supply is conducted, the cell being provided with a measuring electrode and a counter electrode. Connected in series with the electrodes is an external voltage source whose level is set to impress a potential on the measuring electrode at which the current flow in the cell as a result of the chlorine content of the sample increases progressively in accordance with the concentration of free chlorine residual, the cell being essentially insensitive to combined chlorine residual.