Abstract: An improvement is disclosed for payout tubes secured within a container for a coil of cable therein so that the tube projects at its exit end through a hole in a wall of the container. The tube is adapted to dispense cable fed into its entrance end from inside to outside the container. The improvement is, broadly, providing at such entrance end a curved cable support surface extending around the tube of large enough radius of curvature to prevent deformation in cable, fed in contact with the surface into the tube, of tight bends causing kinking of and damage to the cable. Such surface may be provided either on a cap in turn fittable onto the tube at its entrance end or, alternatively, directly on the tube at that end.

Abstract: The invention is for improvements in a payout tube for a container-packaged coiled cable in which the tube in use is in the container along with the coil, a stub of the tube at its exit end protrudes through a hole in a container wall, and the tube is secured to that wall by having portions of the wall around the hole interposed between (a) a flange or flanges disposed on the tube on one side of such wall in contact with such portions, and (b) locking elements axially spaced on the tube from such flange or flanges and disposed on the other side of such wall in contact with such portions. Here, such locking elements are struts coupled to the body of the tube to be movable between radially inner positions at which they will pass through such hole and radially outer positions at which they cooperate with the flange means to secure the tube to such wall as described above.

Abstract: An aerial fiber optic cable case comprises an elongated boxlike housing, openings at the ends of the housing for insertion therein from the side of an unbroken aerial fiber optic distribution cable and further insertion therein of the ends of one or more aerial fiber optic drop cables; seals for the passage of such cables through such openings, a tray reversibly mounted with the housing for supporting optical splices between one or more distribution cable fibers and one or more drop cable fibers, and a support frame including two hangers for fastening such case to hang from an aerial support strand. The container formed of the housing and lid is pivotably mounted relative to the hangers to be angularly movable relative thereto between forward and rear limit positions of angular tilt.

Abstract: A coaxial coupler unit has an outer conductor fastened to the outside of a first rigid metallic wall on one side of a microwave cavity, and the unit also has an inner conductor having at its front end an axially-fixed, angularly-turnable pin axially extending through a port in such first wall through said cavity to be inserted on the cavity's opposite side in a hole in a second deformable metallic wall bounding such side of the cavity. The pin has helical threads thereon engaging helical threads on the inside of the hole. The pin may, while remaining axially fixed, be angularly turned in opposite directions to displace the deformable cavity wall in opposite axial directions relative to the rigid cavity wall to thereby tune the cavity.

Abstract: A field assemblable multifiber optical connector has a tubular housing enclosing a passage in which we inserted two plug assemblages having respective butting front end faces butting each other. Each assemblage comprises (a) a plug consisting of two plates spaced by a gap and having on opposite sides of such gap respective registering sets of laterally spaced gooves defining fiber receptacle channels running to such end faces, and respective pairs of longer groves deferring similarly running pin receptacle channels flanking such fiber channels, and (b) a resilient clip coupled to both guide plates to urge them towards each other and maintain them in alignment. Initially, each such assemblage also includes a comb at the back of the plug for aiding insertion of optical fibers into it. The housing also mounts in its passage a pair of aligning pins receivable partly in both one and the other of the plugs in their pin channels.

Abstract: There is disclosed a cavity closure unit for a microwave amplifier containing smaller and larger diameter, upper and lower, divider and combiner cavities on vertically opposite sides of a central part of such unit and disposed between top and bottom parts, respectively, of such unit, each cavity being bounded on a vertical side thereof by an alternation of concentric ridges and valleys. Improvements for such unit are as follows. The central part includes a discontinuity between upper and lower portions which may be a spatial discontinuity permitting removal from each other of the two cavities. The discontinuity may also be one of materials. The closure unit may have below its top, an outside annular notch of "L" vertical cross section providing a seat for downwardly extending feet on the rear ends of amplifier modules mounted in carousel fashion on top of the unit.

Abstract: A Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer polyimide film and a bulk amorphous polyimide film are in contacting superposed relation to form a composite film having improved moisture resistance. The composite film may be either a free film or provide an insulating coating on the surface of a microelectronics device.

Abstract: A terminal board panel comprises a longitudinally elongated frame enclosing a rectangular space, and a plurality of terminal boards disposed end-to-end in a longitudinal column in such space. Each board on its laterally opposite sides has outwardly projecting flanges cooperating with inwardly projecting flanges on two rails on laterally opposite sides of (and forming parts of) the frame to lock the board to the frame by tongue-and-groove couplings. Ones of the flanges on the boards and on the rails comprise an alternation of projecting tabs and of gaps between such tabs to permit the "tongue" of the associated coupling to be inserted in the "groove" thereof by a transverse relative vertical movement of board and frame by which the tabs of one of such flanges passes through the gaps in the other.

Abstract: Coaxial units are disclosed for conducting microwaves to and from amplifying apparatus with splitter and combiner cavities. Each coaxial unit comprises an outer conductor, a dielectric sleeve having an unsheathed portion extending forward of the front end of the outer conductor, and an inner conductor pin projecting forward of the sleeve, the pin having a forward portion which is resiliently compressible radially inward. The coaxial unit is coupled to an associated cavity by having its sleeve and pin forward portions, respectively, received in large and small bores respectively formed in metallic plates on opposite sides of the associated cavity. The forward portion of the pin makes direct yieldable-pressure electrical contact with metallic regions around the wall of the small bore at a location adjacent the opening of such bore into the cavity.

Abstract: The connector comprises a plastic holder which carries two wire leads and serves as a cap for the free end of a drop wire inserted thereunto. Two metal contacts received in slots in the holder are driven in by pliers action to pierce the insulation of the leads and drop wire and to each engage both the conductor of a respective lead and a respective conductor of the drop wire to thereby electrically connect these two conductors. Next, plastic covers for the contacts, hinged to and integral with the holder, are closed to become locked thereto. The connection is then adapted to serve as a plug for an aperture in a terminal box, and to be attached thereto by snap action, and to have its leads connected to terminals in the box.

Abstract: A telephone stand has a housing with a cradle in its top for a handset adapted when placed in the cradle to depress a pair of laterally spaced plungers passing through holes in the housing down into its interior. A line switch is disposed in the housing below and laterally between the plungers. The plungers are coupled to the switch by a Y-shaped piston comprising a crosshead spanning the lateral spacing between the plungers, a pair of tines projecting upwards from laterally opposite ends of the crosshead and having vertical bores therein in which lower portions of the plungers are received, and a laterally central stem extending down from the crosshead and having camming surfaces thereon adapted upon downward displacement of the piston (by downward driving of either of both of the plungers) to wedgingly displace resilient blades in the switch to change switch conditions thereof.

Abstract: A silicon micro-transmitter chip is housed within top and bottom closures snap-fitted together by legs and catches on the two closures. The chip is mounted between two acoustic cavities in the closures by a plate part of a configured metal sheet having other strip parts extending through grooves in the bottom closure to its outside where the strips are bent to provide arms for surface mounting the entire device on a printed wiring board. The sheet serves both as a continuous strap for effecting such surface mounting and as an electrode for connecting a terminal of the chip to ground. Other terminals of the chip are connectable to the board by flat leads passing through other grooves in the bottom closure to its outside where they are bent for surface mounting purposes. The housing formed by the two closures includes an adhesive impregnated gasket for providing an acoustic seal between the two cavities as to which the air pressures therein are equalized by a vent hole in the plate.

Abstract: A hopper tray for receiving a bulk array for articles, all the same oblong shape and size, is disposed on one side of an elongated conveyer. The tray is angularly movable between an up position at which articles on the tray are discharged onto the conveyer and a down position. The articles are transported one at a time, to a zone at which they are stopped by their contact with a stop plate and their arrival is indicated by a signal fed from a photodetector to a controller. A failure of an article to timely arrive at the zone indicates a probable jamming upstream of articles, and the controller responds to cause a temporary reverse movement of the conveyer tending to relieve the jam. The article stopped by the plate is, if at an angle, reoriented to bear flush against the plate, either lengthwise or widthwise to the conveyer, by the force exerted on the articles by the continuing movement of the conveyer. A probe senses whether the articles have been oriented lengthwise or widthwise.

Abstract: There is disclosed a multiple electrical contact switch which has a comb block whose teeth are inserted into receptacles of a mounting block thereby wedging pairs of electrical spring contacts, which are also inserted into the receptacles, between the teeth and the receptacles without bending the spring contacts. The electrical contacts extend from the receptacles and are activated by an operating card, which engages the extended portions of the electrical contacts to open or close electrical conduction paths. When pressure on the spring contacts from the actuating card is released, the spring contacts then move the operating card to an original position wherein the sequence of open and closed contact springs is as if there were no contact with the operating card and the contact springs.

Abstract: An inductor coil comprises a main winding of insulated wire on the barrel of a bobbin having two axial lugs salient from one of the bobbin's end flanges, and having two recesses formed in the outer surface of the other of such flanges. A coaxial array of such bobbins is mounted on a rotatable spindle axially salient from a rotatable driving head such that the bobbins are, by such lugs and recesses, mechanically coupled together and to said head. The head is rotated to produce through such lugs and recesses a rotation of such bobbins utilized to form such main windings thereon. The lugs of each such bobbin supported elongated plastic arms having bifurcated outer ends around which are formed wire windings providing terminals for the main winding of the coil.

Abstract: A stand for a telephone set comprises an open-bottomed housing providing at its top a handset cradle to the rear of a housing upper wall slanting up towards the cradle and having a large aperture in it. A keypad has keys projecting outward within the aperture and, also, an upwardly slanting cover framed by the aperture. The keypad is secured to the housing by screws passing through support tabs at the side margins of the aperture and into the casing. A faceplate covers the heads of those screws. A printed wiring board with printed wire conductors and bulk telephone set components on, respectively, its upper and lower sides is secured beneath and to the keypad to be spaced from, and have the same upward slant as, the keypad. Mounted on the rear of the board is a line switch with a spring biased pivotable actuating lever.

Abstract: An antenna support is provided by a molded plastic member comprising a block having a vertical passage therein, a horizontal guideway on the top of the block, and detent instrumentalities associated with such guideway. The support is designed for use with a 40 MHz wire rod antenna shaped by multiple "L" bends therein to have a middle section comprising two horizontal arms normal to each other and, at its extremities, two vertical arms normal to the middle section. The support is assembled with the antenna by passing one of the antenna's vertical arms through the vertical passage in the block, and by seating the horizontal antenna arm adjacent that vertical arm into the support guideway so that such horizontal arm is snap-fittably held in that guideway by such detent instrumentalities. Thereafter, the unit consisting of the antenna and its support is assembled with a printed wiring board so that the support maintains the antenna in a predetermined desired positioning thereof relative to the board.

Abstract: A device for splicing together aerial drop wires and comprising: (a) a housing shell having a throughpassage (b) a partition dividing such passage into two channels with outer ramp walls causing the channels to have respective wide openings at opposite ends of the passage and narrow openings at the other ends of the channels, (c) insulating piercing terminals projecting from the partition into these channels and adapted to electrically splice together conductor inserted through the narrow openings into the channels, and (d) wedges drivable through the wide openings to press the drop wires against the terminals and then squeeze the drop wires between the partition and the wedges, is characterized by the following improvements. The wedges are smooth surfaced on their sides which contact the drop wires. Different size wedges are provided to accommodate different size drop wires in the channels. Affixed to the partition are ribs projecting into the channels at their wide ends.

Abstract: A heating device is disclosed wherein a printed circuit board is uniformly preheated before discrete electronic components are soldered onto the boards. The soldering process includes a reflow stage where the boards are subject to rapid temperature change causing internal heat stresses which warp the boards if they haven't been preheated. The device comprises a non-conductive body and conductive elements, such as steel staples, embedded in said body. The staples extend through both sides of said body making contact with a heating surface and supporting the printed circuit board which sits upon them. The staples are spaced and arranged so the components' electrical pins which extend beyond the bottom surface of the board pass into the bed of staples without interference. Therefore, heat is transferred from the heating surface directly to the board via the conducting staples in a uniform fashion.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for inserting leads of an electric circuit component into correspondingly arranged holes in a printed wiring board by (a) holding the component by a robotic arm adjacent the board so that its leads contact the board under pressure and are in nominal registration in the X and Y directions, and (b) subjecting the board to the combined effect of two vibrating motions which are respectively directed in these two directions, and of which one is superimposed on the other. These two motions are each controlled in frequency and amplitude and differ from each other in a motion characteristic whereby the leads sweep in two-dimensional patterns over board areas respective to their corresponding holes and centrally including them until the leads substantially exactly register with the holes to become inserted therein by the pressure on the leads.