Abstract: A releasable joint connects an upright (10) and a transverse brace (16) in an aluminum scaffold frame. A horizontal aluminum flange (12) is attached to the upright (10) and an aluminum connector (18) to the brace (16). The connector (18) has a mouth (50) which receives the flange (12). A steel wedge (20) is inserted through a vertical passage (52) in the connector (18) and an opening (28) in the flange (12). The opening (28) contains a vertical, planar wedge-seating surface (36) of uniform horizontal cross-section. The connector (18) contains a pair of parallel, planar wedge-seating surfaces (54, 56), one above and one below the flange (12). These surfaces (54, 56) extend downwardly and radially outwardly relative to the upright (10) at a predetermined angle relative to vertical and have uniform horizontal cross-sections.

Abstract: A controllable catch mechanism is installed in the door frame of hotel room to engage both a spring-biased latch and a deadbolt associated with the room door. The position of the deadbolt is sensed or a requirement for privacy is otherwise indicated with a switch within the room. An alphanumeric keyboard external to the room allows entry of access codes. If an authorized guest code is entered, a microprocessor-based controller unlocks the catch mechanism regardless of the privacy requirement. The guest code can be changed by the guest, as desired. If a cleaner enters a universal access code, the controller unlocks the catch mechanism only if the bolt is unlocked or no privacy requirement is indicated. Special override codes are provided that unlock the catch mechanism regardless whether the bolt is locked, permitting security staff to handle emergencies.

Abstract: A low-weight riser clamp has a pair of clamp members stamped from metal strips. Each metal strip is bent lengthwise to define an elongate base strip and a pair of opposing lengthwise flanges. The base strip is bent to define between the flanges a substantially semi-circular central arch, a pair of coplanar arms that extend laterally in opposite directions from the central arch, and a pair of tabs each extending laterally away from the arms. The arch and the flanges extend in the same general direction from the metal strip, and each tab is offset from its associated arm in an opposite general direction. Clearance holes are formed in the arms to pass bolts. When installed about a riser, the tabs of the clamp members abut one another to space the arms of the clamp horizontally. Thus, as the bolts are tightened, the butted tabs serving as fulcrums about which the arms deflect, permitting more reliable gripping of the riser.

Abstract: A portable, hand-held spectrophotometric probe detects the concentration of a material dissolved in a liquid bath. The probe has an elongate hollow handle with an open lower end. A transparent cylindrical cell is attached to the lower end of the handle and fills with liquid when the cell is immersed in the bath. A source of light whose spectrum includes an absorption band of the dissolved material is mounted in the handle and transmits light through the cell to a photodetector. The photodetector produces a signal indicative of the intensity of the light, and the signal is transmitted along wiring to a signal outlet in the upper end of the handle. A hand-held processing unit is coupled with a cable to the outlet to receive the signal and then calculates and displays the concentration of the dissolved material.

Abstract: A flexible planar note holder stores information such a names and telephone numbers within a safety helmet that has a rigid outer shell and an inner harness with straps. The holder has a pocket, an opening accessing the pocket, a transparent face that permits viewing into the pocket, and a pair of T-slots at opposing ends of the holder, each slot dimensioned to locate about any strap of the harness. A paper card that carries the information is inserted into the pocket. The two T-slots are located about opposing straps to keep the holder positioned against the harness with the transparent face and information facing downward toward the open bottom of the helmet. When the wearer removes the helmet, the information is immediately available.

Abstract: A display system includes a base, a pair of electronic displays, and an arm assembly that supports the displays from the base in vertical or horizontal registration. In one implementation, the arm assembly is a single telescopic member that rotates relative to the base and locks in vertical and horizontal orientations, the displays rotate relative to the member between corresponding extreme angular positions in which the operative angular orientation of the displays relative to horizontal is maintained, and the length of the member is adjusted to minimize separation of the displays. In another implementation, the arm assembly has separate arms rotating about vertically spaced axes and linked to minimize the separation of the displays automatically when vertically or horizontally registered.

Abstract: A process for disposal of organic waste containing large quantities of fat or oil. A sample of the waste is decomposed in soil containing ample quantities of nutrients required for decomposition, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus. Resulting test data indicates how much nutrient material is required for decomposition, and how much, and when, nutrient material is released to the soil after decomposition. The waste is then incorporated into soil in a field, and nutrients are applied to induce a rapid decomposition phase in which soil organisms absorb and immobilize the applied nutrients to decompose the waste and a subsequent mineralization phase in which the soil organisms release nutrients to the soil. A crop is appropriately selected and planted to begin absorbing significant quantities of soil available nutrients during the mineralization phase.

Abstract: A formwork frame for supporting decking and a fresh concrete floor on the decking includes a horizontal beam whose upper surface contacts the concrete and a vertical shaft that supports the beam. The beam is formed in three separable extruded aluminium sections, a central section mounted on the shaft and a pair of outer sections. The central beam section has opposing ends mitred to converge in a downward direction, and each outer beam has an end mitered to meet one end of the central beam section. The beam has a horizontal channel in each of its sides, and a pair of horizontal ledges close the channels from below. A pair of extruded aluminum bridging members fit closely into the channels and are effectively reinforced by the beam sections to resist bending moments. Pins extend horizontally through the bridging members and the outer beam sections to secure the bridging members to the beam. The pins are not subjected shear forces or bending moments.

Abstract: A post in a modular pallet includes a male part and a female part shaped to receive the male part along a predetermined axis. Complementary locking structure, such as mating screw thread segments or mating ratchet teeth, are formed with the male and female parts and interlock progressively to resist relative axial separation of the parts when the pans are placed in a predetermined locked orientation. Complementary detent structures resist displacement of the parts from their locked orientation toward an unlocked orientation in which the parts separate axially.

Abstract: A system for handling organic waste at a food-handling facility includes a mill that reduces the volume of the waste and a below-ground storage tank that receives the milled waste. A ventilation line and an air flow producer draw air from the storage tank, placing the tank under negative pressure and preventing noxious odors from escaping into the facility. A rigid suction line extends from the interior of the storage tank to points external to the tank and the facility itself. A suction truck periodically removes the waste stored in the tank, applying suction to the suction line to draw the stored waste into a portable tank aboard the truck. The suction truck transports the waste to a disposal site where the well-divided waste may be expelled onto and incorporated by tilling into soil for decomposition by soil organisms.

Abstract: A filter for removing debris from a flow of molten plastic includes a cartridge containing a screen and a holder which seats one face of the cartridge. The flow of molten plastic is directed at an acute angle through the screen producing a filtered plastic flow through a downstream face of the screen and a flow of debris separated from the filter plastic along the upstream screen face. A compartment extends along the upstream screen face and accumulates the separated debris. A passage in the holder communicates with the debris-accumulating compartment and discharges the accumulating debris. A cooling mechanism regulates the rate at which debris is discharged.

Abstract: A clothes dryer is adapted to reduce residual static in clothing items. The sidewall of the drum carries conductive tumbling vanes and a conductive projection. The vanes engage clothing items at the periphery of the dram interior. The projection penetrates further into the drum to contact clothing items that tend to locate there when the dryer is very full. The projection curves in the direction of drum rotation to avoid trapping clothing against the drum side wall. The vanes and projection are coupled to the ground terminal of an electrical main to dissipate static charges gathered from the clothing. To enhance electrical coupling to the rotary drum, a copper ring is mounted around the drum and a copper contact plate is supported from the dryer housing and spring-biased to engage the copper ting. Residual static is further reduced with a grounded conductive plate located near the bottom of the dryer opening that accesses the drum.

Abstract: A scaffold comprises uprights and transverse tubular braces formed of aluminum. Each upright includes a tubular post extruded with external alignment grooves. Identical aluminum flange assemblies are spaced apart along the post. Each flange assembly includes an extruded sleeve with internal aligning ribs that interlock with the external grooves of the post, and a flange cast with internal ribs that interlock with external alignment grooves extruded with the sleeve. Flange decreases continuously from a central part to its periphery. A set of wedge-receiving openings is formed between the central part and periphery. A brace carries an aluminum connector having upper and lower sections that define a mouth for receiving the flange. An outer part of the mouth mates with inclined upper and lower surfaces of the central part of the flange. An inner part of the mouth remains clear of the flange so that shear forces and bending moments are applied by the brace to the thicker central part of the flange.

Abstract: A plug-in fuse device can be handled without special tools and permits convenient replacement of a burnt-out fuse element. The device has a rigid housing with a pair of plug portions. Each plug portion is shaped to plug into a socket and carries a fuse assembly which includes a pair of terminals for engagement with socket elements, a fuse element between the terminals, and a pair of conductive contacts. The terminals extend from one end surface of the plug portion, and the contacts are located at an axially opposite end surface. The plug portions are connected at their contact-bearing surfaces, and the terminals of one plug portion extend in one axial direction and the terminals of the other plug portion, in the opposite axial direction. The plug portions are also offset to different sides of the general plane of the housing. Thus, when either plug portion is plugged into the socket, its contact-bearing surface is available for continuity testing.

Abstract: A modular, expandable, low-weight electric motor has a cylindrical, non-magnetic casing formed in axially-aligned sections. The casing sections are releasably connected to define a unitary structure with a polygonal exterior surface and a circular interior surface. Separate U-shaped stator pole assemblies are releasably mounted against the exterior of the casing, each casing section carrying the poles associated with a different motor phase. The poles extend through apertures into the interior of the casing, and have active pole faces which are curved and substantially flush with the circular interior surface of the casing. A modular rotor is mounted in the interior of the casing and carries magnetic elements in axially spaced-apart sets corresponding to each motor phase. The active faces of the magnetic elements are curved and oriented in a cylindrical arrangement.

Abstract: A transformerless electrical appliance with an AC heating element uses a triac in series with the heating element and a control circuit responsive to a thermistor to regulate flow of heating current. A power supply is formed by a resistive divider that steps down the AC line voltage and a fullwave diode bridge that rectifies the stepped-down voltage. The resistance of the divider is comparatively high, limiting power dissipation in the divider, but incidentally producing significant variations in the power supply voltage (roughly 100% from minimum to maximum levels). The impedance of the divider element which conducts the operating current of the control circuit is selected to ensure that the average minimum power supply voltage is above the minimum operating voltage required by the control circuit. Resistive dividers are used to produce temperature and reference signals from the power supply voltage, making switching of the triac relatively immune to the significant variations in the supply voltage.

Abstract: An implant produces an auditory response in the auditory nerve of a person's ear. The implant is a flexible, coiled strip of piezoelectric material dimensioned for insertion into the scala tympani of the ear in general alignment with the spiral path that the scala tympani follows. The length of the strip corresponds substantially to the full length of the scala tympani. The implant relies on the natural hearing mechanism of the ear. Sound vibration are transmitted along the normal pathways of the ear and are ultimately transmitted along the scala tympani. The vibrations induce a piezoelectric response in the material proximate to the basilar membrane, stimulating fibres of the auditory nerve along substantially the full spiral path of the cochlea. Perceived sound intensity can be adjusted with a hearing aid or other audio amplifier. Amplified sounds simply increase the intensity of the piezoelectric response of the implant and the intensity of the stimulus applied to auditory nerve fibres.

Abstract: A condenser is positioned in high-pressure refrigerant line of a cooling system. The condenser is formed of thermally-conductive material defining a closed reservoir for accumulating liquid refrigerant. An inlet receives the refirgerant flow from the high-pressure line and an outlet discharges the accumulated liquid refrigerant to an expansion valve. The conduit within the reservoir conducts the refrigerant flow from the inlet to a region of the reservoir above the outlet. The conduit is apertured to direct substantially all of the refrigerant flow against upper portions of the condenser, specifically against one side of the condenser. That side of the condenser is exposed to the flow of cold fluid mecium (typically air) produced by the system to condense a gaseous component of the refrigeration flow.

Abstract: A paging device sends text messages to pagers via paging services observing different communication protocols. Communication data is stored in random access memory and includes a service file identifying telephone numbers and protocols associated with each paging services and a pager file containing pager identification codes. Operator message creation and automatic transmission occur contemporaneously, coordinated with status fields in message records. Each newly-created message is stored in a queue together with control data identifying a paging service and pager and status data indicating a "pending" status, namely, a requirement for transmission of the message. The automatic transmission involves repeated scanning of the queue for pending messages, programming a modem according to the message's control data, and arranging transmission to the relevant service. The status of messages subject to transmission errors is automatically set to "rejected".

Abstract: A pump jack scaffold includes a pair of extruded aluminum poles. Each pole has a rectangular cross-section. Wood is adhered to one side wall of each pole, providing a surface a jack mechanism can grip. Each of the other three side walls is extruded with a longitudinal structure, internal to the pole, which defines a lengthwise T-slot opening into the exterior of the associated sidewall. Bolts are insert into the T-slots to fasten braces, which can be used either to engage an adjacent building structure, to join the uprights to define a more unitary structure, or to render the scaffold self-supporting. Each pole is separable into upper and lower sections for transportation. The sections are joined by a resilient internal bridging member which is extruded of aluminum. It has an elongate central portion, webs extending radially from the central part, and a bracing portion terminating each web and engaging a corner of the pole.