Abstract: There is disclosed a method for the ammonia saturation of wood to impart flexibility thereto which includes the step of sealing the surfaces of ammonia-saturated wood with a polymeric film which has limited or no permeability to either or both ammonia and water vapor. Preferably, the polymeric film is flexible so the working of the wood product by bending, twisting, embossing, molding, etc. will not destroy the film. The polymeric film should also be soluble in a selected solvent, thereby permitting its removal after the wood has been formed in a final, desired shape to permit water vapor to re-establish crosslinking of the cellulose chains and restore its natural, rigid condition.

Abstract: There is disclosed an inspection device which can be disassembled into a compact configuration permitting it to be moved into and out of the cargo and ballast tanks of an ocean going vessel through the conventional hatches. The invention comprises a carriage support column which is formed by several cables which are stretched vertically between support plates which are temporarily installed on the bottom of the tank or cargo hold and beneath the vessel's decking. A carriage is mounted on the support column for vertical movement thereon, and the carriage preferably carries a remotely controlled drive motor which can rotate the carriage, preferably in a full 360.degree. arc. A remotely controlled television camera and the necessary lights are mounted on the carriage and can be panned around the column to observe and record the visual appearance of the interior structural members.

Abstract: The invention is used with a display (10) of a left and right stereoscopic images in adjacent side-by-side array on a two-dimensional imaging surface such as the screen of a computer monitor or television. The left and right images (L and R) are rotated by 90 degrees in opposite directions from their normal upright orientations. A viewing device which includes a right pair of mirrors (2 and 4) and a left pair of mirrors (1 and 3) is placed between the viewer and the display. The mirrors are oriented at fixed and predetermined angular relationship to deflect the lines of sight from the viewer's eyes to the respective right and left images, and to rotate them by 90 degrees. As a result, the users left and right eyes see upright versions of the left and right images, respectively, creating a wide-field stereoscopic illusion of the images.

Abstract: There is disclosed a shock absorber which is contained within the head tube of a bicycle. The shock absorber has an outer cylinder that is rotationally received within the head tube and secured at its upper end to a handlebar support member, such as a gooseneck. An inner cylinder is slidably received within the outer cylinder and secured at its lower end to the fork that supports the front wheel. Each of the cylinders has longitudinal grooves, the inner cylinder having longitudinal grooves on its outer surface which align with longitudinal grooves on the inside wall of the outer cylinder. A plurality of bearing balls are received in the tracks which are formed by the longitudinal grooves of the cylinders and a thin-wall bearing retainer is concentrically received between the inner and outer cylinders having a plurality of apertures at predetermined spacing which are aligned along the bearing tracks, each of the apertures capturing one of the bearing balls.

Abstract: There is disclosed a frictional member, or ring, which is substituted for the conventional friction linings and marcel of an automotive clutch. The frictional ring is preferably a monolithic member which has recesses that receive support brackets which attach the frictional ring to the clutch disc. Preferably, the frictional ring includes spring biased islands which permit a phased or progressive engagement of the disc between the pressure plate and flywheel.

Abstract: There is disclosed an optical unit which is primarily intended to provide visual references for measuring machines such as coordinate measuring machines, milling machines, EDM machines, tape and computer controlled drilling machines, etc. The optical unit has a motor driven zoom lens within a lens housing, and an optical coupling for a video camera. The zoom lens assembly of this invention is a modification of that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,878 to include a stepper drive motor and a rotational position encoder which provides the necessary lens information to determine the power of magnification of the lens at any instant position. The preferred encoder includes a disc mounted on the barrel of the zoom lens which has a plurality of slots about its periphery at equal angular increments, and a photo-optical sensor which counts light pulses and generates a pulsed electrical signal as the disc rotates beside the sensor.

Abstract: There is disclosed a housing for a thin, flat display screen such as a liquid crystal display. The housing is formed of components comprising a front housing section having a front panel with an opening for exposing the screen of a flat screen device placed within the housing and a rear cover therefor which includes a hinged attachment to the front housing section which is recessed and inaccessible from the exterior of the closed housing. The assembly of front housing section and rear cover is secured with tangs carried on the lower rear edges of these components. The housing is adapted to be mounted in the chair arm of a passenger seat of commercial airliners, and includes a mounting bracket permitting it to be stowed within the chair arm when not in use. In this application it is essential that the housing have an outer covering of impact absorbing material to protect passengers from injury upon impact against the housing. It is also important that the housing be tamper and intrusion proof.

Abstract: There is disclosed a sun visor and retractable sun screens for a motor vehicle. The sun visor has an expanded width and length and which is foldable for full retraction from the windshield or side window of the vehicle. Preferably the sun visor is used with retractable sun screens which are contained in holders that are mounted above the windows of the vehicle and which have storage recesses for each sun screen in which are mounted roller bars that support the sun screens. The roller bars can be manually operated, or each can have a motor driven actuator to extend or retract the sun screens.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method for growing single crystal material, particularly silicon, in modified Czochralski process furnaces and chambers. The Czochralski process equipment is modified to permit continuous addition of polycrystalline material, preferably in dry powdered form to a molten bath of the material that is maintained at a constant shallow depth. For this purpose, a circular baffle is placed within the crucible containing the molten bath of the material, dividing the crucible into an annular feed zone and a central crystal growth zone. A cylindrical boule is withdrawn from the central crystal growth zone. The surrounding walls of the crucible, and graphite cup that supports the crucible, provide a heating and annealing zone in which the boule is continuously annealed as it is withdrawn from the molten pool. Dopants are also introduced into the annular feed zone, either separately or admixed with the polycrystalline material.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method, and apparatus useful in the method, for the automated loading of probes in a probe head intended for use in automated testing of printed circuit boards. The invention automatically places probes in a probe head at on-grid and at off-grid test points, with probes for the latter test points being vertically inclined from base ends which are on-grid to test ends which are off-grid, corresponding to the off-grid test points of the printed circuit board. In the method, the probes are stored in a dispensing unit which is fully populated with on grid probes at a uniform grid spacing. A mask is custom drilled for the circuit under test at on-grid locations and is used to permit transfer of selected probes from the dispensing unit to a probe cassette. The probe cassette is then transferred to a probe loading unit which is loaded with a stack of the probe plates intended for the probe head.

Abstract: There is disclosed a press on dispensing cap for containers which can be opened and closed by a limited angular rotation. The cap is press fitted onto the neck of a container such as a tube, and the neck of the container has a plurality of discontinuous spiral tracks which receive lugs carried on an inner skirt of the cap to permanently retain the cap, and to permit extension and retraction of the cap upon twisting. Preferably the lugs have a plurality of closely spaced ribs on their inside surface which ride against the neck wall, thereby reducing the frictional resistance of the cap to rotation. The cap has a dispensing orifice which seals about a central boss on the end of the neck, and two additional seals which engage against sealing surfaces of the tube neck. One seal is a circular rim on the underside of the cap which seals against a circular rim on the end of the neck, opposed to that on the cap.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method to inhibit the corrosion of metals by sodium chloride and calcium chloride solutions by incorporating in the solutions a mixture of mono- and di-hydrogen orthophosphates. Sodium chloride solutions which contain calcium chloride, e.g., rock salt solutions, are inhibited against corrosion when the percentage of dihydrogen orthophosphate is from 10 to 60 percent of the mixture of di- and mono-hydrogen orthophosphates. Calcium chloride solutions are inhibited against corrosion when the percentage of dihydrogen orthophosphate is from 50 to 100 percent of the mixture of di- and mono-hydrogen orthophosphates.

Abstract: There is disclosed a rotatable orifice tip holder for use in airless spraying which has an orifice tip member mounted in a transverse through bore of the holder. The through bore has a major portion of a first, large diameter and a lesser portion of a substantially lesser diameter. The orifice tip member is press fitted into the through bore with its hemispherical head received within the lesser diameter portion of the through bore and a sealing plug is permanently seated, by a press fit into the major portion of the through bore. The sealing plug has a through passageway of a small diameter and a counter bore of greater diameter but lesser length and is oriented in the through bore of the holder with the counter bore adjacent the inlet face of the orifice tip member. The volume of the counterbore is maintained at a minimal volume which provides adequate diffusion of the spray jet during the cleaning operation yet which exhibits minimal frictional pressure loss during spraying.

Abstract: There is disclosed a wand activated dispensing valve that can be installed on the spouts of water faucets. The valve includes a housing having an internal cup-shaped member with the bottom wall of the cup-shaped member being foraminous and having a substantial thickness. The bottom wall preferably has a plurality of circumferentially disposed radial slots in an outer annular area, surrounding a central wand aperture which receives a rod-like wand. Preferably the wand aperture is surrounded by an internal recess in the bottom wall of the cup-shaped member which receives the bulbous upper end of the wand, capturing the wand in the assembly. The lower end of the valve member rides on the bulbous upper end of the wand and the valve member is lifted when the wand is tilted to one side. The housing includes a valve plate having a central port which receives the valve member, the upper end of which seats against a valve seat carried by the valve plate.

Abstract: A portable security grill apparatus which may be installed in window openings of buildings includes two rectangular grill sections longitudinally telescopically fastened to one another. Opposite longitudinal ends of the two grill sections have beams disposed perpendicularly to the axis of longitudinal telescoping movability of the two grill sections, the beams having flat outer surfaces adapted to abut a window edge at one end of the grill apparatus, and a window frame edge, at the other end of the apparatus. At least one toggle clamp Connected between telescopically joined members of the two grill sections is capable of exerting a large outward extension force when in a closed, clamped position, thereby exerting compressive forces on the window and window frame sufficient to prevent the grill apparatus from being removed from the window opening.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a low-cost, disposable spray tip for airless spraying, which has an orifice tip holder that is reversible between spraying and cleaning positions. The orifice spray tip is mounted in a rotatable member by a retainer threadably engaged in the body. The body includes a through running passage opening at the back and the front of the body and which receives the sealing piston secured in the passage by the retainer. An orthogonal bore opening at the top and the bottom of the body intersects the passage and a cylindrical turret member is permanently but rotatably mounted in the bore. The body and spray guards are formed as a single piece, preferably by die casting or molding, and the through running passage and orthogonal bore are formed concurrently during the molding or die casting operation. The only additional components to be assembled are the retainer and piston seal assembly and the rotatable turret member and handle assembly.

Abstract: There is disclosed a direct acting lock mechanism to secure a tool within a driver which is useful for securing open channel sockets used to securing aerospace fasteners in a driver. These sockets have a flatted shank, typically hexagonal in cross section, and are received in a socket receptacle of the driver which has a cross section matching that of the shank. In the preferred embodiment, the flatted surfaces of the shank are formed to have substantially coextensive flats which are displaced through an angular increment of at least about 15 degrees. The flats do not extend the entire length of the shank, however, thus providing a thin shelf which has a cross section which matches the internal flatted surface of the socket receptacle of the driver.

Abstract: There is disclosed an interlock between a wood working tool and a dust control system in which a standard pressure switch, which can be activated by negative or positive pressure, is located in the dust collector duct which extends to the wood working tool. The switch is electrically connected to the magnetic starter for the wood working tool. The pressure switch responses to a sensed condition of subatmospheric pressure in the dust collector duct to provide power to the woodworking tool, thus insuring that the dust collector system must be functioning to permit operation of the wood working tool. When the dust collector duct becomes blocked or the dust collector fails to function for any reason, the pressure in the duct rises, automatically activating the interlock and interrupting the power supply to the woodworking tool.