Abstract: A method pertaining to vehicle headlamps which emit ultraviolet light and which include a light source for generating both ultra-violet light and visible light, and a filter which is placed in the beam path between the light source and the surroundings and which is intended to substantially filter out visible light and to transmit ultraviolet light, said headlamp, however, unintentionally transmitting a given proportion of visible light, such as red and blue light, of low intensity.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing solar cells, more specifically thin-film solar cells, particularly thin-film solar cells on which CuInSe.sub.2 is deposited. A substrate is provided on which a multi-layer structure is formed by depositing thereon a layer defined by a compound including several basic substances, such as copper-indium-diselenide (CuInSe.sub.2), or a closely-related compound where copper (Cu) and indium (In) can be replaced totally or partially with Silver (Ag) and gallium (Ga), respectively, and where selenium (Se) can be replaced totally or partially with sulphur (S) and tellurium (Te), and where the concentration of the basic substances in the layer varies. The substrate is placed on the inside of a rotatable, tubular carrier device, after which the substrate is heated, and substance sources are provided for depositing the basic substances on the substrate.

Abstract: A golf training device embodies a leg brace which restricts improper leg movement during a golf swing. The device engages the foot and lower leg and may be worn inside the shoe of the golfer. When strapped on the rear leg, the device prevents reverse weight shift while allowing fore and aft pivoting of the ankle. Alternatively, the device may be worn on the forward leg so as to prevent excessive forward weight shift.

Abstract: Industrial filtration apparatus for the separation of solids entrained in a fluid stream comprises: a flexible perforate filtering sleeve closed at one end such that fluid can pass through perforations in the sleeve but entrained solids of a predetermined size are retained within the closed end of the sleeve. The apparatus has a structure for holding the sleeve about a discharge pipe for the fluid at a point between the closed and open ends of the sleeve, and for restraining movement of the sleeve away from the pipe; the apparatus is adapted such that in response to a predetermined fluid (e.g. hydraulic) pressure within the sleeve between its closed end and the discharge pipe, the closed end is allowed to be displaced away from the discharge pipe, thereby drawing a portion of the sleeve nearer its open end into a position forward of the pipe to expose said portion to the fluid stream.

Abstract: A combined vertical column and shallow tray semicontinuous deodoriser for edible oils and fats and comprising a column (10) of discrete vessels and a deodorising vessel (13) disposed within or valve-connective thereto. In the operation of the device, heated oil from a vessel (12) is supplied to deodorising vessel (13) wherein it is circulated by steam injection at (33) through a lift tube (29), between a plurality of vertically separated self draining shallow trays (26, 27, 28). The entire oil content of deodorising vessel (13) is circulated therethrough approximately once a minute for a period in the region of eighteen minutes to strip free fatty acids and other volatile components from the oil by falling curtain and steam sparge techniques, and then the oil batch is discharged to a heat recovery vessel (14) and a cooling vessel (15) before product discharge.

Abstract: A drum conditioner which is capable of providing an external force on a drum so as to crack and loosen powdered or other finely divided material therein which has solidified and hardened is disclosed. The drum conditioner includes two pairs of pressure rollers which provide pressure to the drum and help rotate the drum as it sits on a conveyer bed of rollers. The pair of pressure rollers in the rear are adjustable so as to accommodate different size drums. The front pair of pressure rollers are provided with a hydraulic cylinder to assist in providing and maintaining pressure between the pressure rollers and the object drum, regardless of the regularity of shape of the drum.

Abstract: A laser beam receiver including a transparent disc and a mirror arrangement which are fastened on a base element. A light spot formed on the disc by a laser beam may only be seen optimally, particularly if the distance between the laser device and the laser beam receiver is so great that the laser beam arrives only faintly, if the observer's angle of view lies in the axial extension of the laser beam. The mirror is so arranged that this angle of view lies exactly in the axial extension of the laser beam. The range of action of the laser device is thus expanded in a simple and inexpensive manner.

Abstract: A cereal milling machine having a stock reservoir for incoming stock to be milled, a pair of motor driven feed rolls for metering the stock at a controlled rate from the reservoir, and a pair of grinding rolls for receiving the stock from the feed rolls. A stock level control system comprises a vertical array of spaced capacitive switches located outside the reservoir, each sensor producing an electrical signal according to the presence or absence of stock at the level of the individual sensor, a variable speed motor driving the feed rolls and a micro-computer connected to the sensors and to the motor via an inverter to accelerate or decelerate the motor as a result of changes in the level of stock in the reservoir. The control system ensures a substantially constant mean level of stock in the reservoir and protects the grinding rolls.

Abstract: A transistor in which the emitter terminal is coupled to ground through an electrolytic capacitor. The electrolytic capacitor has a capacitance of from about 0.2 .mu.f to about 100 .mu.f and can be connected either by itself or in parallel with a resistor, depending upon the circuit in which it is used. The incorporation of an electrolytic capacitor of such a capacitance level provides greatly improved gain and less distortion of the input signal, to permit a high output to be achieved in fewer amplifier stages and with less current draw and heating than in conventional transistor amplifier stage circuits. Additionally, the transistor can be provided in a unitary structure by incorporating the electrolytic capacitor directly on the transistor chip, and can also be provided by incorporating the transistor and a resistor within the casing of an electrolytic capacitor.

Abstract: A method for the direct casting of metallic material, such as steel, to produce elongated bodies (2) which can form blanks having a cross-section which corresponds relatively close to the cross-section of the intended products, in which method a metal melt (1'), while at least its outermost layer remains molten, is caused to run from an outlet gate (3) in a molten-metal container (1) and is collected subsequent to solidification. The melt (1') of molten metal which exits from the gate exits together with a metallic body (5) which has substantially the same melting point as the molten metal, this metallic body being passed through the gate (3), inserted into and moving with the molten metal and causes cooling of the molten metal (1') progressively. The metallic body thereby entrains the molten metal at substantially the same speed as the metallic body (5) in what is termed a boundary layer.

Abstract: An arrangement pertaining to refrigerator and freezer gondolas of the kind used to exhibit merchandise in self-service retail stores and being upwardly open in order to expose refrigerated and frozen merchandise. The invention has an upper glass plate located above the opening of the gondola. The size and positioning of the glass plate is such as to generally cover the gondola opening, seen in vertical projection. The surface of the glass plate facing towards the gondola opening is provided with an infrared reflecting layer having an emissivity number below 0.2, preferably below 0.1.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for continuously forming a laminated tubular body, disclosing the joining of opposite longitudinal edges of a strip of sheet material (5) to form a tubular body, extruding a hollow plastics lining member (1) within the body, expanding the hollow lining member within the tubular body to form a substantially continuous lining, pressure means (66, 67, 71, 72) for pressing the inner lining into sealing engagement with said inner surface, and cutting means (16) for cutting the continuously formed laminated tubular body into preselected lengths.

Abstract: A wheelchair for handicapped people includes a frame structure which is carried by chair-rolling devices and which in turn carries a seat and back-support. The wheelchair is characterized in that the seat is divided longitudinally, preferably along a center line, and in that the seat parts are so journalled to the frame structure as to enable the seat parts to be swung outwardly on respective sides of the wheelchair, independently of one another.

Abstract: A cam for axially shifting the pulley faces of a variable width, torque sensing V-belt pulley in a variable speed, belt-type transmission system. The cam includes a plurality of cam lobes that extend in an axial direction at a predetermined radial distance from the pulley axis. Each cam lobe is triangular and is symmetrical about a cam lobe axis that is parallel with the pulley axis, and each cam lobe includes two cam surfaces that engage with respective cam followers to change the pulley face spacing as the load on the belt changes. The cam surfaces are convex and are in the form of circular arcs. The transmission system incorporating the cam structure is particularly suitable for vehicular use, and it provides improved performance by reducing engine overspeed upon initial acceleration and provides a smoother backshift when climbing hills.

Abstract: A two-stage speed reducer including a planocentric gear arrangement which has a rotatable output ring gear and a planet gear mounted within the ring gear for orbital movement. The teeth on the ring gear and the planet gear are tapered to permit axial adjustment of the planet gear with respect to the ring gear and thereby eliminate backlash between the two. Adjustment means is provided to permit axial adjustment of the planet gear with respect to the ring gear. After a period of use of the speed reducer, the planet gear may be readjusted axially relative to the ring gear to compensate for backlash created between the teeth of the planet gear and ring gear due to wear.

Abstract: A flexible ocular insert device adapted for the controlled sustained release of an ophthalmic drug into the eye. In one embodiment, the device includes an elongated body of a polymeric material in the form of a rod or tube containing a pharmaceutically active ingredient and with at least two anchoring protrusions extending radially outwardly from the body. The device has a length of at least 8 mm and the diameter of its body portion including the protrusions does not exceed 1.9 mm. The sustained release mechanism may, for example, be by diffusion or by osmosis or bioerosion. The insert device is advantageously inserted into the upper or lower fornix of the eye so as to be independent of movement of the eye by virtue of the fornix anatomy. The protrusions may be of various shapes such as, for example, ribs, screw threads, dimples or bumps, truncated cone-shaped segments or winding braid segments.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for opening and closing a cover-plate on an automotive vehicle, wherein the plate lies in line with the vehicle outer body panel and can be swung between an open and a closed position about a vertical or horizontal hinge axis and covers the space in which the mouth of the vehicle refuelling pipe is located. The cover-plate is opened in two stages, wherein the plate is opened slightly to a limited open position by a first opening device in a first opening stage, thereby enabling a second opening device to be inserted between the cover-plate and the outer body panel, and wherein the plate is opened completely by the second opening device in a second opening stage. The cover plate is swung from its open to its closed position by the second opening device.

Abstract: A device for positioning a first object relative to a second object, primarily for positioning an automatic fuelling device relative to vehicles. A transponder using a microstrip antenna design is small in dimension and gives accurate position indication by attachment to a back surface of a body which acts as a close reflection plane. The preferred embodiment of the device is a microstrip patch antenna where the ground plane is of similar size as the antenna element, and where the transponder is mounted on a car body rearward of the fuel filling point, to result in a radiation diagram that is created from the added direct signal from the antenna element and the reflected signal from the car body. A rounded profile of the transponder is a result of placement of its battery adjacent to the radiating element.