Abstract: A stackable modular shelf apparatus including at least two vertically stackable frame modules and a multi-sided intermediate shelf, in which each frame module includes a plurality of generally rectangular individual frames corresponding to the number of sides on the intermediate shelf and arranged in upright planes along the sides of the shelf with the upright end members on adjacent ends of the frames juxtaposed adjacent the corners of the shelf and connected together by a plurality of connectors. One frame module is stacked on top of the other frame module and the shelf has a generally horizontal peripheral portion interposed between adjacent side members on the frames of the upper and lower frame modules.

Abstract: A filter apparatus in which a generally horizontal bed of filter material is supported on a porous support and is divided by spaced partitions into individual filter cells above the support and individual filter compartments below the support, and a carriage is mounted for movement along the filter bed and has a collector hood that moves along the top of the bed to collect backwash effluent therefrom and a backwash head arranged to direct backwash fluid into the compartments below the porous support. A pair of spaced scarifier blades are provided in the collector hood to scarify the upper surfaces of the filter bed. The backwash head is advantageously in the form of a jet pump arranged to entrain water from filtrate launder that communicates with the filtrate compartments.

Abstract: An improved chain link comprised of a two piece barrel, a pin and a sprocket engaging aperture. The chain link of the invention is formed from a blank having a body portion with a tongue attached to one end thereof. The tongue is formed into a barrel hook. A flap is taken from the inside of the body portion and formed toward the barrel hook to form the remainder of the barrel and the sprocket engaging aperture of the chain link. The pin is formed from the other end of the body portion.

Abstract: A machine for vending newspapers, magazines and the like including a housing having a dispensing opening and a dispensing gate in the opening, a tray for supporting a stack of papers and tray elevating mechanism for urging the tray upwardly until the top paper in the stack is adjacent the level of the dispensing opening, a feed mechanism operative through a dispensing stroke to feed the end paper at least part way off the stack into the dispensing opening, and gate control mechanism operative to prevent opening of the gate between dispensing cycles and operative when the feed mechanism is moved in its dispensing stroke to enable opening of the gate, the gate control mechanism also including mechanism operative whenever the dispensing gate is held open after the feed mechanism has completed its dispensing stroke, for preventing elevation of the support tray toward the dispensing opening to thereby impede the access to the papers in the stack through the dispensing opening.

Abstract: A vertical venetian blind construction in which carriages having rotatable slat carriers are mounted for movement along a horizontal channel by traverse cords that extend lengthwise of the channel. A spline shaft extends lengthwise of the channel and the carriages have gears that mesh with the spline shaft for rotating the slat carriers in response to the turning of the shaft.

Abstract: A shelf bracket including a bracket member formed of non-metallic material and having an upper shelf supporting surface and a rear abutment surface and a generally L-shaped metal attaching member for mounting the shelf bracket member on a supporting surface. The non-metallic bracket member has recesses at the upper rear corner thereof for receiving the metal attaching member and the bracket member has a downwardly extending notch in its upper surface for receiving a downwardly extending tongue on the metal attaching member to horizontally anchor the bracket member adjacent its upper surface. A second anchor extends horizontally from the lower portion of the attaching member into the bracket member to vertically support the bracket member.

Abstract: A free standing shelving system including a plurality of shelves and a plurality of spindles for supporting the shelves, some of the shelves being arranged in endwise adjacent relation whereby the shelving system has some abutting shelf ends and some free shelf ends. The shelves each have like corner openings in all four corners with one spindle at each corner opening at the free end of the shelves and one spindle at the contiguous corner openings in endwise abutting shelves. The spindles are disposed in endwise aligned relation with their axes at the virtual corners of the shelves and the spindles have end faces on their adjacent ends that overlap the shelves adjacent the corner openings.

Abstract: A lock and safety release for power operated doors of the type in which the door is normally connected to a door operator for movement thereby, and in which the connection of the door to the door operator can be released to enable manual movement of the door. The lock and safety release includes inner and outer emergency release handles at opposite sides of the door which are selectively operable to disconnect the door from the door operator, and a lock mechanism for locking the outer emergency handle to prevent its operation to disconnect the door from the door operator and to also disable the door operator to prevent powered movement of the door by the door operator. The inner release handle remains operative to disconnect the door from the door operator to enable manual operation of the door when the outer handle is locked and the power operator is disabled.

Abstract: A curling die apparatus adapted for use in a press and having a die member with a semi-cylindrical cavity adapted to be mounted on one press member and a sheet engaging means on the other press member for advancing a sheet of material edgewise along a path tangent to the inlet edge of the semi-cylindrical die cavity to progressively deflect the sheet material into a curl. The curling die apparatus includes a movable sheet guide member normally positioned to engage one side of the sheet adjacent the inlet edge of the die cavity to guide the sheet while the lead edge of the sheet moves progressively in a curl along the semi-cylindrical cavity and the guide member is automatically moved to a position away from the die cavity as the lead edge of the sheet exits from the semi-cylindrical die cavity to allow the lead edge of the sheet to continue to curl through at least a major portion of the cylinder.

Abstract: An automobile bicycle carrier having spaced rigid side frames providing vehicle engaging feet on the ends thereof and bicycle support members attached by mounting plates to the side frames for angular adjustment relative thereto about a pivot axis extending crosswise between the side frames. The mounting plates have a plurality of openings arranged in an arcuate pattern concentric with the pivot axis to enable adjustment of the support members relative to the side frames so that the support members can extend generally horizontally when the carrier is mounted with the vehicle engaging feet in different positions between a generally horizontal plane and a generally upright plane to adapt the carrier for use on vehicles of widely different types.

Abstract: A weighing scale apparatus including a base and a scale platform and a plurality of bell cranks pivotally mounted on the base at locations angularly spaced apart about a common center for pivotal movement in planes generally tangent to a circle about the common center. A load summing member is connected to the bell cranks at locations vertically offset from the pivot axes for turning thereby about the common center, and the scale platform is connected ot the bell cranks at locations horizontally offset from the pivot axes of the bell cranks in the same angular direction relative to the common center to apply a turning moment to the load summing member correlative with the load on the scale platform. The turning moment applied to the load summing member is sensed as an indication of the load on the scale platform.

Abstract: A floor scale for measuring body weight having a scale base, a foot platform, an electronic digital weighing system for producing a digital display indicative of the weight applied to the scale platform, and a power switch for controlling the application of power to the electronic digital display system. A weigh cycle control is provided including a kick bar mounted on the scale base at one side of the scale for movement in a generally horizontal direction and adapted to be actuated by the foot of a person before mounting the foot platform, a momentary contact type switch mounted on the scale base for actuation by the kick bar and a timer operated by the momentary contact switch for maintaining the application of power to the electronic digital weighing system for a preselected time interval sufficient for a weighing operation.

Abstract: An apparatus for applying covers to containers as they are advanced by a conveyor in spaced succession past a cover applying station, the cover applying apparatus including a cover magazine that supports the bottom cover in the magazine in an inclined plane that converges toward and intersects the path of travel of the tops of the containers, with a shuttle driven in timed relation with the conveyor to move the bottom cover along the inclined plane across the magazine and onto the containers as they are advanced, the drive for the cover shuttle being so constructed and arranged that the forward velocity and displacement of the cover is approximately equal to the forward velocity and displacement of the container while the lead edges of the cover and container move past the point at which their paths intersect.

Abstract: The drill bit extension which utilized a length of conventional pipe or thin wall conduit without modification. A chuck adapter fitting and a drill bit adapter fitting are located at opposite ends of the pipe. Both have a pilot portion adapted to extend into the pipe, and a threaded tapered portion which engages the pipe interior. The chuck adapter fitting has a reduced shank to be received in a conventional drill chuck; and the drill adapter fitting has an opening with means for locking a drill bit into the fitting. Since the fittings are used with an unmodified pipe, the pipe section can be used in drilling the holes and then left in place after the fittings are removed. In this manner, water lines and electrical conduit may be installed simultaneously with drilling the required holes therefore.

Abstract: Apparatus for folding and sealing upper and lower end portions of a wrapper of heat sealable plastic film which has previously been positioned about the top, bottom and sides of the article. The wrapper end folding and sealing apparatus includes an endless type article conveyor arranged to advance the articles and wrapper along a path with the end portions of the wrapper extending laterally from opposite sides of the article conveyor; endless type upper and lower finger conveyors disposed at each side of the article conveyor and having film folding fingers arranged to engage the laterally extending end portions of the wrapper to fold the end portions of the wrapper into overlapping relation at the ends of the article as they are advanced by the article conveyor, and heat sealing members for sealing the overlapping portions of the wrapper at the ends of the articles as they are advanced.

Abstract: A tape and apron dispensing apparatus in which the apron roll and tape roll are mounted for rotation about spaced, relatively parallel axes at one side of an elongated body member and the portion of the body member intermediate the tape and apron rolls is shaped to provide a handgrip paralleling the path of withdrawal of the taped apron and adapted to be grasped in one hand to enable hand manipulation of the tape and apron dispensing apparatus when applying the taped apron to a surface to be masked. An apron roll brake and cut-off device is mounted on the dispenser to facilitate severing of an end section of the taped apron.

Abstract: A knock-down shelving apparatus including a plurality of vertically spaced shelves and a plurality of uprights extending between each shelf and the next lower shelf. Each upright has a multi-sided core and panels adhesively secured to the outer side faces of the core with one end of the core spaced axially outwardly from one end of the panels to provide a multi-sided tongue at one end of the uprights adapted to extend through a similarly shaped opening in the shelf and with the other end of the core spaced axially inwardly of the other ends of the panels to provide a socket for relieving the tongue on an axially aligned upright after it has passed through an opening in the shelf. The shelves have depending flanges engageable with the uprights to enhance the stability of the shelving apparatus when assembled.

Abstract: A platform type weighing scale including a base and a scale platform and first and second pairs of platform suspensions for mounting the platform on the base at the four corners of a generally rectangular pattern, an elongated load sensing beam supported at spaced points therealong on the base, and first and second transfer means respectively interconnecting the first and second pairs of platform suspensions to the beam at a common point intermediate the spaced beam suspension points to apply a bending load to the beam correlative with the sum of the loads applied to the first and second pairs of platform suspensions, and electrical strain gauge means mounted on the load sensing beam for producing an electrical signal correlative with the bending stress produced in the beam as an indication of the total weight applied to the scale platform.

Abstract: Apparatus for packing articles, particularly bottles, in units each consisting of a plurality of parallel rows of articles, each row comprising a plurality of articles, in side-by-side contact, and with the rows in contact, comprising means for collating articles into said units and sleeve-wrapping the units. Each unit of articles, as formed, is deposited on a conveyor and conveyed thereby through a sealing station, means being provided for supplying webs of heat-sealable wrapping material to lie under and over each unit, and for sealing the webs together at the sealing station to form a sleeve of the material around each unit. In collating cylindrical bottles (or other cylindrical articles), the rows are staggered for nesting of the bottles to reduce the voids in the units.

Abstract: Packaging apparatus in which units to be wrapped and flexible packaging material for wrapping the units are fed forward with the units spaced apart in the direction of feed, with a dwell interval between successive feed cycles, and having means for forming a seal across the width of the material between two successive units during each dwell interval. The units are fed forward by conveyor means intermittently driven via a chain and sprocket drive including a crank rotatable about a predetermined axis, means for continuously rotating the crank in one direction about its said axis, a first sprocket secured to the crank with the axis of the first sprocket offset from the crank axis for rotation of the first sprocket about the crank axis without rotation of said first sprocket about its own axis, a second sprocket and a chain trained around said first and second sprockets. The sealing means is operated during the dwell intervals by a similar chain and sprocket drive mechanism.