Abstract: A hot air oven for heating food-loaded cartridges, each constituted by a stack of sealed trays nested within an open carton whose side walls have holes therein to admit heated air, the trays containing pre-cooked meals. The oven includes a rotating turntable provided with a raised annular shelf for supporting a circular array of cartridges, the side walls of which define a hollow center core. A driven propeller is disposed within the core, the space between the shelf and the turntable forming a restricted flow passage whose inlet communicates with the core and whose outlet lies at the periphery of the turntable. A heater assembly above the cartridge array produces heated air which is sucked by the propeller into the hollow core. Because of the flow restriction, a substantial portion of the heated air is forced through the holes of the cartons to heat the food in the trays.

Abstract: A mobile information display system which may be transported to the site of a sports or entertainment event and then erected to provide a large screen display of video images produced by a live T-V camera so that even those members of the audience who are unable to obtain a full view of the activity may see the field action as well as instant replays. The system includes a lamp matrix display screen board, each lamp of which is individually controlled by a computer to pesent black-and-white video images derived from the live camera or other source. The matrix board is divided into a central panel and a pair of side wings hinged to the central panel and foldable thereover to form a compact stack which is carried horizontally on the bed of a trailer hauled by a tractor.

Abstract: A cryogenic container adapted to store or transport liquified gases, the container including an outer tank formed by walls which have thermal insulation properties and are structurally capable of supporting the load, the walls incorporating a liquid and gas-impervious secondary barrier. Received within the outer tank and readily removable therefrom is a prefabricated independent inner tank constituted by a flexible bladder whose geometry roughly conforms to the contours of the inner surface of the outer tank. The bladder is formed of a synthetic plastic fabric material that is coated to render it liquid and gas-impervious to define a primary barrier, which coated fabric material maintains its flexibility and other physical characteristics at cryogenic temperatures and has sufficient structural strength to sustain the cryogenic liquid load without any danger of rupture even in those areas thereof in which the bladder does not fully conform to the contour of the outer tank surface and is not backed thereby.

Abstract: A blister-card package for housing cylindrical articles of merchandise, the package being convertible into an easel-supported display stand and a one-at-a-time dispenser. The package is constituted by a card covered by a transparent plastic dome to define a rectangular container for a stack of cylinders, the container having an opening in the lower end thereof from which the articles may be withdrawn.

Abstract: A structuring mechanism for a reader-filler machine adapted to cut and insert sections of microfilm into the channels of a multi-channel microfiche jacket, each channel having an entry slot adjacent the rear end of the jacket. The jacket to be loaded and structured is placed on the inclined platform of a carriage that is shiftable stepwise in a path at right angles with respect to a stationary film trackway. A retractable film pusher operates at a pusher station parallel to the trackway. After a section of film is inserted in a channel and is cut from the film on the trackway to produce a film chip whose tail extends outside of the channel entry slot, the platform is then indexed to bring the next empty channel into line with the trackway, the tail of the chip being brought by this step into alignment with the film pusher which acts to engage the tail and push it into the channel to complete the insertion.

Abstract: An electronic physical trainer system which produces periodic tone signals at an adjustable rate to establish an exercise rhythm and which senses the calisthenic activity of a performer in response to this rhythm to evaluate and improve his performance. The trainer system includes a position sensor in the form of a light beam directed toward a photodetector in a path traversing an exercise area to produce action pulses which reflect the movement of the performer as he alternately blocks and clears the beam path. Also included in the system is a pulse generator whose frequency is adjustable to produce exercise pulses which activate a tone generator whose output is amplified and reproduced to provide the tone signals. The exercise pulses and the action pulses are compared in a coincidence network which yields a "hit" pulse each time an action pulse overlaps an exercise pulse to a degree exceeding a set value and which otherwise yields a "miss" pulse.

Abstract: A free-standing coffee-maker assembly including a brewing basket that is seated on a decanter, a paper filter having a flat base being nested within the basket. Boiling water from a reservoir seated on the basket is sprayed over a bed of ground coffee lying over the flat base of the filter, the water percolating through the bed to produce a coffee extract which is discharged through a central opening in the bottom of the basket into the decanter. The bottom of the basket is provided with a depressed region surrounding the central opening to define a well and an annular inactive zone concentric therewith. The well is provided with upstanding ribs to maintain a space between the base of the filter and the well, whereby the coffee extract is free to flow through the filter base only in the region thereof overlying the well.

Abstract: A protective relay circuit operating in conjunction with a regulated direct-current power supply in which a rectified A-C voltage having a ripple component is fed to an output terminal coupled to a load through the choke of a filter network. The excitation coil of a relay is connected between the input of the choke and the output terminal whereas the normally-closed relay switching contacts are interposed between the output of the choke and the output terminal. The relay coil has a high impedance relative to that of the chokes so that in normal operation, the coil has virtually no influence on the filter and does not pass the ripple component to the output terminal. In the event of a short effectively grounding the output terminal, the unfiltered rectified voltage is then imposed across the excitation coil to activate the relay and open the switching contacts, thereby disconnecting the supply from the shorting load.

Abstract: A sensing 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, such as a piezoelectric crystal which is included in the circuit of a high-frequency oscillator whose carrier frequency is determined by the normal resonance characteristics of the element in the absence of applied pressure pulses. The pressure pulses applied to the element cause the oscillator to yield a carrier signal having both a frequency-modulation and an amplitude-modulation component, each component depending on the repetition rate of the pulses as a function of flow rate. One of these components is demodulated independently of the other to produce an output signal whose frequency is proportional to flow rate.

Abstract: A fixture serving as a storage holster for a portable hair dryer and also functioning as a rack for drying towels and other fabric articles. The fixture which is mountable on a wall or attachable to an existing towel rack includes an upright holster section in the form of a tube whose upper end has an open socket formation adapted to receive and nest the nozzle of a portable hair dryer whereby the dryer may readily be removed from the holster for its intended use or stored thereon. Extending from the tube of the holster section and communicating therewith is a hollow rack section for supporting a towel or other article to be dried. The rack is provided with perforations to emit hot air jets when the socketed hair dryer is activated, thereby effecting drying of the article supported on the rack.

Abstract: An animated image presentation apparatus operable in conjunction with a multiple-image microrecord in which a plurality of interrelated images are recorded on a reduced scale in a manner whereby each image is dissected into a multiplicity of bits which are dispersed to form an image pattern that is distinct from and interlaced with the image patterns defined by the recordings of the other images. The apparatus includes a lens matrix disposed in parallel relation to the microrecord to project an image pattern in registration therewith onto a screen, the matrix being constituted by an array of lensettes that are dispersed on the matrix to assume positions that are optically aligned with the bits in the image pattern. The microrecord is indexed relative to the matrix to successively register in a predetermined sequence the image patterns recorded on the record with the array of lensettes for presentation on the screen at a rate providing an animated display.

Abstract: An open-top holster for a revolver which affords maximum security for the gun and yet facilitates rapid withdrawal, but only by the wearer of the holster. The holster is strapped to the side of the wearer and includes a pocket socketing the barrel, the trigger assembly and the cylinder of the revolver, the grip being exposed above the pocket. Installed in the pocket is a catch piece formed from a resilient plastic plate having a sector which normally bulges out and intercepts the upper end of the cylinder when the revolver is fully inserted in the holster to prevent its unauthorized withdrawal. The sector is depressible, and in the course of revolver insertion, it is forced against the inner surface of the pocket of the cylinder to permit its full entry, at which point the sector springs out to intercept the upper end of the cylinder. The only way the gun can be drawn is for the wearer of the holster to depress the sector with the thumb of his gun hand to clear the cylinder.

Abstract: A microrecord in which a plurality of data sets are formed on a record medium, such as a film surface. Each data set represents a distinct page or an equivalent body of intelligence and is constituted by a multiplicity of data sub-sets each including at least one data bit. The sub-sets which together form a data set are dispersed on the medium according to a predetermined pattern. The dispersed sub-sets forming the plurality of data sets are interlaced with each other whereby each data set occupies a distinct position on the medium and may be optically extracted therefrom.

Abstract: A mating device for a cartridge-type fuse to facilitate its insertion in a holder and the removal therefrom. The fuse has a tubular casing whose ends are enclosed by terminal caps which are engageable by the spring clips of the holder. The fuse mate is molded of synthetic plastic material configured to define a pair of resilient clip-on jaws adapted to spread apart and then embrace the fuse casing, the jaws projecting from and being integral with the underside of a rectangular shield which protectively covers the entire fuse and the "live" holder clips. Formed on the upper side of the shield and integral therewith is a block-shaped handle having concave sides to define finger depressions and a face which lends itself to marking.

Abstract: An inexpensive and efficient solar energy collector formed by a thermally-insulated channel covered by a transparent plate assembly to define an elongated passage having an input end into which air is admitted, and an output end from which air is discharged. The channel is divided into a series of stages each having a heat exchange section therein which acts to transfer absorbed heat to the air flowing therethrough, whereby cool air entering the channel is raised in temperature in the course of its passage. The effective surface area of the heat exchange sections increases progressively in the successive stages, so that as the temperature difference between the air and exchange sections is reduced as the air passes through the stages, the area of exchange increases to maintain a rapid rate of heat transfer. To maximize the heat retention in relation to the radiation acceptance in each stage, the transparent cover assembly is formed by plates whose number is stepped up from the input to the output stage.

Abstract: A video system for storing and retrieving 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. The frame signal is electronically divided into a series of fields each having a like number of scan lines, the fields being applied successively to the recording heads of a multi-headed magnetic tape recorder in which the heads are vertically offset with respect to each other. The heads are mounted on a rotating arm and are caused thereby to sweep across a stationary magnetic tape to record the fields thereon in a set of parallel transverse tracks. The tape is indexed to store each document in a distinct set of tracks.

Abstract: A fast food service technique in which a meal is pre-cooked and then transferred to a tray in which the food is refrigerated at a temperature just above its freezing point to preserve the meal without degrading its texture or flavor. When the food is to be made available to customers, the cold trays are transferred to the open shelves of a heating apparatus which is adapted to blow hot air into the shelves to heat the food in the trays to a temperature well below its boiling point to prevent re-cooking thereof and to form a curtain of heated air surrounding the shelves to effectively isolate the trays from relatively cool ambient air, whereby the heated trays may be directly withdrawn by a customer from a shelf without heat loss and without the need to open a door.

Abstract: An integrated unit for manufacturing food products, the food being processed in a vat having a double-wall defining a jacket which surrounds the vat chamber. Associated with the vat are two tanks, one containing a heated liquid and the other a cooled liquid. A selective valve arrangement is provided to recirculate the heated liquid from the hot tank through a closed circuit or to circulate it through the jacket to heat the vat contents, or to recirculate the cooled liquid from the cold tank through a closed circuit or to circulate it through the jacket to cool the vat contents.

Abstract: A system for monitoring the frequency difference between pulse output signals derived from a pair of flowmeters interposed, respectively, in the inlet and outlet lines of a flow conduit supplying cooling water to the tuyere of a blast furnace, the frequency difference being indicative of water leakage. The pulse output signals produced by the respective flowmeters during each predetermined measuring period are integrated. The integrated values are compared with each other, the difference therebetween being monitored whereby when the difference exceeds a predetermined set value, an alarm is generated.