Abstract: A portable, flame powered sealer including a sleeve-like body portion receptive to a standard, throw-away type cigarette lighter, a pair of upwardly extending brackets, a heating element held over the flame of the lighter by the brackets, and a compression member pivotally attached to one of the brackets for pressing a portion of the bag proximate its mouth against the heating element.

Abstract: A universal check valve assembly is disclosed which fits within an exhaust conduit having any one of a range of diameters and without any modification to the structure of the conduit. The assembly includes an adjustable diameter support hoop and a circular, single piece valve structure of variable diameter which can removably engage the support hoop. The support hoop has a downwardly extending, outwardly flaring skirt portion which resiliently engages the inner wall of an exhaust conduit.

Abstract: A video compensation subcircuit which solves a problem encountered with many inexpensive video monitors having very high frequency video input signals, namely that horizontal lines on the monitor's screen appear much brighter than the vertical lines. The subcircuit solves the problem by attenuating the video signal whenever the signal is developing a horizontal line, thus balancing the intensity of horizontal and vertical lines as they appear on the screen. The hardware of the subcircuit includes a "D" type flip-flop which delays the incoming video signal for one clock pulse so that the delayed signal and the video signal can be compared to see if a horizontal line is being developed on the monitor's screen. If a horizontal line is being developed a subtraction signal is produced which subtracts from a pulsed version of the video signal to produce a compensated video output signal.

Abstract: A water toy is disclosed including an elongated body portion, a head portion attached to one end of the body portion, and a tail portion attached to the other end of the body portion. At least the tail portion, and preferably the body and head portions, is hollowed to create a sealable chamber which can be filled with and emptied of water through a fill hole. A user straddles the body portion, settles back against a contoured surface of the tail portion and "rides" the water toy along the surface of a swimming pool, lake, etc. The hollowed portions allow the weight and weight distribution of the water toy to be varied to modify the character of the ride and to accommodate riders of different sizes and weights.

Abstract: A compact projection television system is disclosed which includes an enclosure having a movable front portion hingedly attached to a fixed rear portion so as to be movable between an open and a closed position. When the movable portion is in the closed position a large viewing screen, projection optics and a television receiver are hidden from sight within the enclosure. When the movable portion is rotated to the open position, the viewing screen elevates and the projection optics unfold to ready the projection television system for use. The raising of the screen and the unfolding of the optics are caused by linkages connecting those members between the fixed and movable portions of the enclosure.

Abstract: A tool is disclosed for lifting and carrying a bundle of shakes or shingles by hooking onto the band of material that holds the bundle together. The tool includes a handle and at least two hooks attached to the handle for engaging the band of the bundle. The handle is designed to prevent the skinning of a roofer's knuckles or the pinching of his fingers by providing adequate separation between a grip portion of the handle and a portion of the handle that supports the hooks. The hooks include offsets which help align the tool with the center of gravity of the bundle and may be provided with gaffs to ease their insertion under the band. In certain embodiments of this invention the handle is modified to provide a sharp cutting edge for puncturing, chopping or slicing through the band.

Abstract: An emergency battery charger device is disclosed which, in its simplest form, includes a pair of cigarette lighter plugs having their negative contacts coupled together by a conductor and having their positive contacts coupled together by means of a current limiting device such as an incandescent bulb. In use, one of the plugs is plugged into the cigarette lighter socket of a vehicle having a discharged battery and the other plug is plugged into the cigarette lighter socket of a vehicle having a fully charged battery. Current will flow from the good battery and from the good battery's charging system to the bad battery through the incandescent light bulb so as to trickle charge the bad battery. The incandescent bulb serves the dual function of limiting the charging current and acting as a charging rate indicator. A shorting sleeve is also disclosed for shorting the contacts of one of the plugs so that the incandescent bulb can also be used as an emergency light.

Abstract: A modular, hybrid integrated circuit assembly is disclosed which includes a number of integrated circuit modules which can be assembled together to create any number of different hybrid electronic circuits. The modules are designed to minimize semiconductor device interconnect path lengths to increase the speed and reliability of the resultant hybrid electronic circuit. The integrated circuit modules are preferably substantially disk shaped and are provided with a plurality of contacts on both sides as well as four equally spaced notches formed in their edges. the modules are assembled like a stack of coins so that the contacts of adjacent modules are pressed together. The assembled modules are held together under pressure by a module carrier that is provided with lead-pins formed into a standard DIP configuration. Bus-bars of the module carrier engage at least some of the notches of the modules to electrically couple the modules to the lead-pins.

Abstract: A voltage multiplier device is disclosed which includes a circuit and a means for coupling the circuit between a television filament transformer and the heater filament leads of a C.R.T. picture tube of a television set. The device is operative to develop a voltage across the two leads of the C.R.T. heater filament that is greater than the voltage developed across the two secondary leads of the transformer.

Abstract: A device for carrying large sheets of material (such as plywood or gypsum wallboard) both efficiently and without damage. The device includes a pair of brackets for engaging the two lower corners of a sheet of material and a flexible line connecting the pair of brackets. A person wishing to lift and carry the material grasps the flexible line and exerts an upward force thereupon to lift the material off the ground.

Abstract: An energy saving inner door device for inhibiting the loss of cold air from a refrigerator when the refrigerator's outer door is opened, the device including a panel pivotally or hingedly attached to the inside of the refrigerator for closing off the volume of space between two adjacent refrigerator shelves. The panel can be pivoted between an upright position to close off the volume of space between the pair of shelves and thus trap the cold air therebetween, and a lowered position that allows the perishables stored on the lower one of the pair of shelves to be accessed. A latch is provided to hold the panel in the closed position and knobs are provided to facilitate the opening and closing of the panel.

Abstract: A cut-off tool or deep grooving tool and support therefor for use on a turning lathe, in which a cut-off tool is secured in a tool holder on a cross slide, the support being inserted between the protruding cutting end of the cut-off tool and an extending portion of the slide bed that carries the tool holder on the cross slide of the lathe. The support is longitudinally adjustable between the cut-off tool and the cross slide and has its upper end formed as a spade of narrower width than the cutting edge of the cut-off tool, and transfers the cutting forces on the cutting edge directly to the cross slide bed. The lower edge of the cut-off tool and the upper surface of the spade portion of the support are supplied with co-operating male and female profiles to ensure constant centering of the spade formed end of the support relative to the cut-off tool.

Abstract: A reading instrument for magnifying certain chosen printed material on a page or sheet of paper and for visually isolating the chosen material from other, adjacent printed material, the instrument including an opaque plate that is provided with a slot, an elongated magnifying lens attached to the plate in alignment with the slot, a permanent magnet spaced from the lens and attached to the plate and a flat lamina of a ferrous material that is positioned under the printed page so as to inhibit the plate from sliding along or falling off of the page due to its magnetic attraction to the lamina.