Abstract: A solar energy collector of the kind which heats a fluid employs removable energy transfer tubes having an outer glass envelope and an evacuated space between the envelope and an inner metal tube. A manifold is provided to which is connected a number of inner elongate metal tubes having an open end over which are then arranged the energy transfer tubes. The inner metal tubes and the energy transfer tubes form an annular space which is provided with helical fluid flow channels to increase the thermal energy transfer from the radiant solar energy to the fluid. The energy transfer tubes are removable and are not installed on the operable system until the mechanical mounting and fluid connections are made at the operational location.

Abstract: An accessory intended to be added to an existing toilet aids personal hygiene by providing a cleansing jet of either water, or water plus a liquid soap fluid, to provide a cleansing and washing action to a person following use of the toilet. Water plus a medicated fluid may also be provided to relieve discomfort from hemorhoids or other rectal ailments. An outlet head is provided with a venturi tube that draws the liquid soap into the water spray. A valve mechanism is provided to control both the water spray output and the secondary fluid output. In another embodiment, the hygenic cleansing jet is provided and a douche capability is also provided. An additional source of medicated fluid is connected for mixing with the water. In this embodiment, the valve mechanism employs a second internally arranged venturi tube which provides low pressure to draw the medicated fluid into the douche output. The douche embodiment can be further adapted for use as enema.

Abstract: An incinerator for burning waste material employs an additional grate on which waste material is burned, thereby producing a layer of heated ashes and coke. The smoke and gases produced by the burning waste material are caused to be passed downwardly through this very hot layer of coke, thereby raising the temperature of the waste gases and burning off noxious pollutants entrained therein. The invention also provides a series of burning stations with adjacent ones burning in opposite directions; i.e., upwardly and downwardly. All waste gases and smoke produced by the burning waste material will pass sequentially through the series of burning stations, all of which will have a layer of hot coke, before being exhausted to the atmosphere.

Abstract: The invention is an energy saving method that subcools previously condensed refrigerant causing an increase in the net refrigeration effect. A water pump is used to circulate cold water stored in a tank through a counter flow heat exchanger which is connected to the liquid refrigerant line just prior to the expansion device and after the existing condenser. Excess sensible heat is thus transferred to the water storage unit. The effectiveness of water cooling is thus achieved and yet water conservation is achieved since water is dispersed only when excessive sensible temperature has been accumulated in the storage unit. The temperature of the water in the storage tank is maintained by an aquastat mounted on the top which activates a solenoid dispersing heated water and admitting cool water as required.

Abstract: Printing apparatus for printing characters in a line on paper has a print drum arranged horizontally with respect to the paper and is formed having the indexing means and the translational drive means affixed to the frame to greatly decrease the mass of the assembly. An actuator is arranged inside the print drum and a hammer arm extends at a 45.degree. angle up and into the print drum to contact the actuator thereby driving a selected character outward into contact with the paper. The print drum includes rings having T-shaped characters slidably retained therein in a radial fashion. The characters are retained in the ring by means of a unitary elastic band which passes through slots formed in each type carrier.

Abstract: A decorative laminate comprising a substrate, a foam adhered thereto and a top layer of clear film with a decoration encapsulated between the foam and the film, together with a method for manufacturing said laminate. Additives in the nature of fire retardants are added to the foam and film and insulators incorporated in the substrate. The film may be imperforate or perforated so that the laminate is breathable.

Abstract: Adapter for permitting a smaller standard size battery to be used in applications requiring dimensionally larger standard size battery cells. The adapter can be economically formed of plastic and is intended to permit an AA size cell to be used in C and D cell applications and a specially arranged metallic contact is provided at one end in conjunction with a stop member which prevents the repeated insertions of the AA size cell from crushing a resilient member integrally formed with the electrical contact member. The adapter can be formed in two halves and can be secured together by means of an outer label, thereby eliminating the necessity for glues and adhesives to hold the halves together.

Abstract: A tool for use with a rotary drive is provided with a number of differently formed slots therein to receive different cutting blades in various orientations. The tool is adaptable for cutting in a radial direction and in an axial direction and can accommodate molding head cutters as well as standard 1/4-inch tool steel bits in various combinations with spacer bars to provide different cutting profiles in a radial direction and to permit surface boring and milling in the axial direction.

Abstract: A fully integrated alarm, communication, and building management system has a central control station and a plurality of remotely located sensing and controlling devices. Each remote device has an individual digital address, which is a parallel address present on a plurality of parallel lines. The parallel address is converted to a serial address and sent to the various remote locations where it is then reconverted to a parallel address and decoded to determine the specific device being interrogated. A multiple amplifier system is provided at the central control unit and provides communication capability involving remotely located loudspeakers and microphones. The amplifiers are provided in a dual channel arrangement so as to provide a fail-safe arrangement and a failure detector is located in each channel such that if a selected amplifier channel fails, the back-up or redundant channel is immediately switched into use.

Abstract: An arithmetical teaching aid includes a display board B comprising a rectangular array of display areas A arranged in rows R and columns C. Adjacent display areas A are marked (1, 10, 100 etc.) to represent successive powers of an arithmetic base number so that display areas A (where there are more than one) representing a given power of the base number (e.g. 1,000) are arranged diagonally across the board. Means (for example slides S) are provided for relatively moving the various rows R of display areas so that displays (e.g. 1,000) in the different rows R corresponding to the same power of the base number can be brought into columnar registration. All display areas A corresponding to a given power of the base number have a common tonal and/or textural characteristic which is different from the characteristic of each neighboring display area corresponding to a different power of the base number. Such characteristics are preferably provided by three different colors.

Abstract: A system for selectively dispensing and/or mixing or otherwise utilizing materials contained in respective storage tanks, including a material conveyance means, such as a pump, and a specialized selector valve programmably controllable to supply the materials to one or more processing containers in desired quantities and in a desired sequence.

Abstract: A unitary portable flashlight assembly incorporating a hand operated generator and rechargeable batteries, such as the pressure vented nickel-cadmium type with welded electrodes. The generator is designed and operated to charge th batteries at a high rate for a short time to provide extended operation of the load during a later discharging mode. The batteries also serve to regulate the voltage during the charging mode thus protecting the load if it be connected during the charging period. The battery assembly can provide the necessary energy to operate such devices as radio receivers and transmitters, electric fire starters, etc., as well as providing a mechanical output.

Abstract: An inflatable movable ceiling or partition is installed in a greenhouse to limit the interior volume of the greenhouse which must be heated by artificial means. The tubes are inflatable transparent plastic tubes, which are arranged longitudinally in the greenhouse, and when inflated form a complete false ceiling partition. When the tubes are deflated, they may be pushed back to lie against the sides of the greenhouse. The ceiling or partition is formed of adjacent cylindrical inflatable tubes which are in fluid communication by means of an inventive jumper system which forms an airtight seal between adjacent members. The jumpers may be installed at the time the system is installed in the greenhouse and the ends of the cylinders sealed by wire ties or they may be taped.

Abstract: A system for selectively dispensing and/or mixing or otherwise utilizing materials contained in respective storage tanks, including a material conveyance means, such as a pump, and a specialized selector valve programmably controllable to supply the materials to one or more processing containers in desired quantities and in a desired sequence.

Abstract: Cover for a cylinder-shaped pressure container such as a vacuum impregnation container or an autoclave which at the mouth edge has members for holding a tight fitting closure member against the mouth edge which members contrary to previously known and complicated members can be manufactured by means of generally known working processes and machine tools. The mouth edge of the container (1) and the closure member (3) both have a radially outwards directed annular flange (2,4) which flanges have cooperating contact faces (5) and each a sloping surface, whereby the width of the two flange members (2,4) is decreasing towards the outer edge. The cover further comprises a retaining ring (6) which is placed close to the flange members (2,4) and which is ended up by two free ends (8).

Abstract: A support system for large generally cylindrical tanks in ships and including four supporting devices each comprising a tank portion and a hull portion respectively secured to the tank and hull, one of the supports being fixed with respect to linear horizontal movement, another of the supports being movable only transversely of the longitudinal axis of the tank, yet another of the supports being movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tank and still another support being movable both parallel to and transversely of the longitudinal axis of the tank; each tank portion of each support being connected with its respective hull portion by means of a spherical joint with thermal insulation between the spherical portions of the joints.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for amplitude modulating a carrier signal with an audio or information input signal utilizes an arcsine generator to cause the envelope of the carrier to follow the input signal. The invention stems from the realization that if rectangular pulses of bipolar amplitude are symmetrically centered about 0 and .pi. radians of the carrier signal, the harmonic content can be expressed as a function of the angle of the rectangular pulses. This concept is realized by producing two opposite phase carrier signals which are compared with the modulation input signal to form two opposite phase rectangular pulse signals whose pulse widths are a function of the modulation input signal. Alternate phase pulses are extracted from these two rectangular pulse signals by two NOR gates, and the extracted pulses are combined and filtered to obtain an amplitude modulated output signal.

Abstract: A remote sensing and control system wherein a plurality of remote sensing units are connected to a central control and monitoring console by only four interconnecting wires. A clock signal is converted to a plurality of parallel address signals at the local monitoring console and also at the remote sensing units located up the building. A sync signal is employed to synchronize all of the serial to parallel converters in the system, and each remote unit is provided with a specific code and is identified by selectively routing one or more signals through an invertor located at each unit so that the signals trigger a logic device in the particular time slot assigned to each remote unit. The input circuitry of each remote sensing unit compares two fixed microvolt reference signals derived from the least significant bit of the address signals with the return signal from the sensing device to sense for opens, grounds, normal conditions, and alarms.

Abstract: A bidirectional power line filter provides distributive capacitance to accomplish filtering is electrically connected between the power lines and the ground wire in a power distribution system. In addition to lumped parameter or fixed value capacitors, a distributive capacitance is provided by use of a printed circuit board upon which the electrical components forming the filter are mounted. A specially formed dual inductor is wound as a common-core inductor using two toroidal cores preferably formed of ferrite each having a different permeability verus frequency curve. The inventive filter is intended for use in a three-phase Y-connected power distribution system, as well as in a conventional single-phase system. An additional multiple outlet system may be added to the bidirectional filter and it is also formed having distributive capacitance by employing a length of printed circuit board material to which the plurality of outlets are connected.

Abstract: An adapter to fit a dry cell battery of a first nominal size for use interchangeably with a dry cell battery of a second and larger nominal size, has a central passage within which the first battery is snugly received and has external dimensions resembling those of a battery of the second nominal size.