Abstract: A method is disclosed for providing a poultry house or other livestock enclosure with an environment favorable for animal growth and unfavorable to propagation of microorganisms which includes starting the grow out cycle with the birds confined to about one-quarter of the enclosure and expanding the area with increasing body weight while keeping the body weight to area at least one pound per square foot; injecting tempered outside air mixed with inside air through an air jet device into said enclosure at a temperature below enclosure air temperature and at a velocity of about 10,000 cubic feet per minute with intermittent operation having a maximum duty factor of about 0.4 and a periodicity of about ten minutes. When outside air temperature is below 30.degree. F.

Abstract: There is disclosed a crop harvester for strawberries or other fruits or vegetables including a wheeled vehicle, preferably self propelled, adapted to pass along beds or rows of the crop and having a rotating perforated support element with hollow retractible fingers mounted over its perforations; the peripheral speed of the support element is approximately the same as the vehicle wheels. A fan or other air mover supplies vacuum pressure and positive pressure to ducts connected through the interior of said support element to said fingers; those fingers in a direction to contact the crop are connected to vacuum pressure. Fingers preceding such fingers are connected to positive pressure to eject the collected crop onto a conveyor leading to a collection receptacle.

Abstract: There is disclosed apparatus and method for making helical center-cored smokers' filters from pipe cleaners or the like in which a guide for winding the pipe cleaner includes a thin walled metal tube with an inside diameter slightly smaller than the pipe cleaner and a wire affixed to the outside of the tube in the shape of a helix. The pipe cleaner is put in the tube for a fraction of its length and is then wound along the guide around the tube and itself by the use of a transparent plastic hollow cylinder slipped over the tube and with a pipe cleaner engaging notch in one end. An opening in the cylinder allows a fully wound pipe cleaner to be held in place while the guide is rotated and disengaged from it after which the wound pipe cleaner filter is pushed out of the cylinder and removed.

Abstract: There is disclosed a driving and control circuit for a tuning fork resonator also adaptable to rotary motor control wherein an approximately sine wave signal from a motion sensor is applied to an instantaneous level detector which causes a control signal to be generated during that portion of the sine wave signal where the instantaneous level exceeds an adjustable reference level; the control signal causes the application of a current to the tuning fork drive which is in a direction to cause braking and reduction of motion amplitude. A distinctive feature of the instantaneous level detector is the fact that the sine wave signal is not rectified but is rather converted to a fluctuating direct current signal with a DC level accurately determined by an internal semiconductor voltage reference element.

Abstract: There is disclosed a toothbrush with curved bristles formed of natural or manmade fibers of thermoplastic or thermosetting material such as acetate fibers, rayon fibers, acrylic fibers, nylon fibers, polyamide resins, polyimide resins, phenolic resins, or urea resins; the bristles are set in two rows, at least one of the rows being offset from the center-line of the brush and with a curvature which is concave viewed from the center-line of the brush; some embodiments have bristles with substantially uniform curvature and other embodiments have bristles wherein the curvature in non-uniform and the greatest curvature is approximately one-third of the length from the distal extremity of the bristle. Preferably the bristle distal extremities are at about a right angle to the proximal bristle portion and the brush optionally has a row of short straight bristles parallel to the row of curved bristles on the concave curvature side of the curved bristles.

Abstract: There is disclosed a cushion of flexible plastic sheet material adapted to be filled with water or other liquid wherein the interior space is divided into at least two compartments, one of which is annular, the shape being particularly adapted to provide a cushion with firm, comfortable support while at the same time being simple and inexpensive to manufacture. Separate filler openings are provided for the two compartments which permits their being filled independently, to different degrees if desired. The cushion is preferably provided with a textile fabric cover which is removable for storage and shipping.

Abstract: There is disclosed a frequency monitor circuit, for monitoring AC power frequency for example, in which a gate is provided for a stable oscillator and frequency divider circuit which is responsive to the frequency divided monitored signal and a flip-flop circuit to produce a fixed reference period signal equal to a predetermined number of cycles of the oscillator commencing at the beginning of a full cycle of the monitored signal; a two-stage timer which determines the tolerance for the monitored signal frequency and is adjustable is provided with signals from the monitored signal divider circuit and the fixed reference period circuit and arranged so that the end of the reference period or the end of the divided monitored signal cycle, whichever occurs first, will start the timer. Its output latches a pair of flip-flop circuits acting as decoders which are respectively supplied with the state of the frequency divided monitored signal and the fixed reference period signal.

Abstract: There is disclosed an electro-mechanical sequencer to equalize the running time of multiple (typically four) pumps in a common sump at a sewage treatment plant or the like. The sequencer includes a solid state binary counter receiving an input at an all-pumps-off condition. The binary counter operates a pair of multi-pole-double-throw relays. Control signals (typically four) from float valves or other sensing devices to the pump motors are routed through the first relay and then the second relay; one of the relays shifts the connection of its inputs and outputs by one position; the other relay shifts by two positions. Upon successive input signals to the binary counter the relays are changed from no-shift, to one position shift, two position shift, three position shift, and back to no-shift (in four pump systems). Three pump systems return to no-shift after the two position shift.

Abstract: There is disclosed a dispenser and container for fuel and oil having separate compartments, including three legs which lift the bottom of the fuel and oil compartments off the ground by about a foot. Each compartment is provided with an opening at the bottom connecting to a hose several feet long so that fuel or oil will flow by gravity into the tank of a chain saw or similar internal combustion engine powered device resting on the ground. The outlets for the hoses are provided with valves which are operated from the top of the dispenser and automatically vent the containers and the hoses for free-flow of the fuel or lubricating oil. The dispenser includes compartments built into the top for carrying tools, rags, replacement parts, etc. A retaining groove and clip is provided for each hose for convenience in transporting the dispenser.

Abstract: A sanitizing method and a sanitizer system to be attached to a conventional circular bottle filling machine as used for filling beverage bottles, the system including a plurality of collector manifolds, each manifold being adapted to collect sanitizing liquid from a plurality of adjacent filler valves, there being a sufficient number of manifolds with plural valve engaging tubes to accommodate every filler valve of a particular machine; the manifolds are connectable by flexible hoses to a rotating collector which is preferably permanently installed at the top of the bottle filler machine so that the entry ports of the collector rotate with the rotating conveyor table of the machine and the exit port of the collector is from a stationary portion thereof. There is a provision for passage of carbon dioxide gas through the center of the collector in cases where the bottle filler machine employs an overhead supply conduit for carbon dioxide to maintain carbonation in the beverage in the filler bowl.

Abstract: There is disclosed a rotating head for a rotary drilling rig which is to be secured to the top of the well pipe having an inner rotating portion with an opening therethrough which permits passage of drill pipe, pipe joints, and Kelly tools; the rotating portion has an annular drive rubber formed integrally with the top portion thereof. A rotating head drive bushing having an opening with a cross-sectional shape generally conforming to the cross-section of the Kelly tool to permit only sliding motion therebetween is provided with helical external ridges which produce a disengagable gripping action with the opening in the drive rubber at the top of the rotating portion of the rotating head. The rotating portion has a conventional stripper rubber at the bottom thereof and is mounted with a double roller bearing to provide low friction motion with respect to the fixed portion of the head.

Abstract: There is disclosed an improved reaper assembly for a rice combine having two cutter bars with triangular blades, one of which is stationary, and the other of which is reciprocated by a driver arm. All of the triangular cutting blades have sharp serrated edges and the blades of one bar are of a different dimension than the blades of the other bar, the blades preferably having a width ratio of three to two; the blades are secured to the bars with rivets or similar fasteners so that broken or damaged blades may be conveniently replaced; the stationary cutter bar is provided with holes matching the usual holes on the combine cutter mounting bar so that it may be attached with bolts to replace standard guards and ledger plates; the original bolts also may be employed to secure holddown clips which hold the reciprocating cutter bar against the stationary cutter bar while allowing the reciprocating cutter bar to slide freely.

Abstract: A heating-ventilating system including an air duct adapted to be installed in an exterior wall of a poultry house and having a fan mounted near the interior end of the duct and a fuel burner mounted in the duct upstream from said fan, the fuel burner being adapted to burn fuel efficiently in the high velocity air flow provided by the fan; an automatic damper upstream of the burner controlled by the pressure differential across the burner; an igniter including an electric spark generator and a starter-maintainer jet forward thereof for igniting the burner in response to an electrical signal; a controller for the fan which operates the fan alone in response to a warmer than desired temperature in the poultry house, which causes the fan to turn off at a desired temperature range in the poultry house, and which causes the fan to operate in conjunction with the fuel burner for lower than desired temperatures; and a curtain opening controller for automatic adjustment of curtains responsive to the fan burner control

Abstract: There is disclosed an electric hot dog cooker also suitable for cooking individual portions of sausages, shishkabob or the like, including a stand supporting an electric heating coil in the form of a helix extending horizontally; inside the helical heating coil is a hollow bushing member arranged so that a rotisserie spit rod will extend through the bushing and engage a rotisserie motor element, all essentially co-axial with the helical electric heating element. Secured only to the outer end of the rotisserie spit is a circular arrangement of nine cylindrical open-wire cages about two inches in diameter and about nine inches long, capable of accepting a hot dog, sausage or similar shaped food portion and large enough so that the hot dog will roll in the cage while the circular arrangement of cages is rotated around the heating coil by the rotisserie motor. The motor is shielded from the heating element by a metal shield having a horizontal turned-down portion at the top thereof serving as a warming shelf.

Abstract: There is disclosed a tube bending machine with a rotatable die having a tubing clamp associated therewith and a stationary wiper block to bend a tubing work piece around the die as it rotates. The wiper block and tubing clamp are placed into and locked in operative position with similar toggle linkages which are adjustable to accommodate different bending dies and wiper blocks. The die is rotated by a fluid pressure linear actuator chain driving a sprocket secured to a common shaft with the die; the chain is pinned at one end to the sprocket and the sprocket has a torsion spring connected thereto applying tension to the chain and causing the die to return when the actuator moves to slacken the chain. An adjustable stop limits the travel of the actuator shaft and a pointer which moves with the stop reads against a scale to directly indicate degree of bend.