Abstract: Plant seedlings are transplanted from a germination tray to one or more maturation trays by penetrating the soil plug surrounding the plant and its root system in the seedling tray by means of a rotating spirally coiled shaft, withdrawing the seedling, soil plug and shaft as a unit from the germination tray, inserting the plant, soil plug and shaft unit into the maturation container, and penetrating the soil plug with a needle-like holding implement while rotating the coiled shaft in a reverse direction to withdraw the shaft from the plug and deposit the plug and plant within the maturation container. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of such coiled shafts are provided on a traveling frame controlled by a microprocessor to enable mass transplantation of plural seedlings to be carried out on a rapid automated basis.

Abstract: An assembly for inserting an attachment coil in concrete with a screw having a releasable spacer and an expandable coil mounted thereon. The spacer initially positions the screw in a hole for location of the coil and has a slot to permit the spacer to pop off the screw as the screw is screwed into the coil in the hole. The spacer may have longitudinal ribs to bridge any lateral space between the screw and the hole. The coil has an exterior diameter less than the interior diameter of the hole for free movement of unexpanded loops without creating cross threading during insertion. A second coil can be inserted closer to the surface by assembling two spacers on a screw for location of the second coil, with both spacers popping off the screw as the screw advances into both coils. The use of two coils in a hole allows positioning of coils in both compression and tension zones on opposite sides of a neutral axis of the structure.

Abstract: An apparatus removes textile articles such as empty tubes or full yarn packages from the individual posts on which such articles are supported simultaneous with advancing movement of the posts. The textile articles are removed in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the posts so that during removal detrimental binding of the textile article relative to the post does not occur. According to one aspect of the invention, at least one pair of endless belts are mounted in spaced, parallel relation to one another to form an elongate opening therebetween. The elongate opening is aligned with the travel path of the textile articles being advanced on the posts so that the textile articles automatically enter the elongate opening and are engaged by the endless belts without the need to stop or otherwise control the advancing movement of the textile articles.

Abstract: A transport system for transporting textile bobbins to winding stations of a textile winder on individual bobbin tube support members having a reciprocating supply conveyor extending along the winding stations for supplying bobbins on tube support members to the winding stations, a plurality of generally parallel winding station conveyors having entrances at the supply conveyor for receiving tube support members reciprocating on the supply conveyor and a plurality of control members disposed for engagement by tube support members, each control member having a first portion normally disposed in the tube support member path for engagement by tube support members and being displaced by the engagement and a second portion adjacent the winding station conveyor entrance normally disposed out of engagement with the tube support members and being connected at the first portion for movement into a position for engaging tube support members reciprocating on the supply conveyor to guide the tube support members past the

Abstract: A perimeter support spring for use in a mattress or furniture spring assembly having an array of coil springs connected with spaced parallel border wires along the perimeter of the spring array is connected between the border wires to provide supplementary support to the mattress perimeter. The support spring comprises a torsion spring member having an intermediate torsion coil, a pair of spring arms diverging from the torsion coil, and a pair of molded plastic mounting clips attached to the terminal ends of the spring arms.

Abstract: An apparatus for transporting full sliver cans to the spinning stations of a textile spinning machine for can exchange operations thereat during which empty sliver cans are exchanged for full sliver cans. The apparatus includes a can transport carriage having three can supports at equal angular spacings from one another relative to a vertical axis and a device for indexing movement of the three can supports to sequentially position each can support at a can transfer location at which a can is transferred between the can transport carriage and the textile spinning machine. Each can support is sequentially indexed to a standby location from the can transfer location and, thereafter, to a ready location from which the can support is indexed into the can transfer location. The can transfer and ready locations are arranged such that two sliver cans supported at these locations are substantially aligned in the direction of travel of the can transport carriage.

Abstract: A peg tray type carrier for transporting textile yarn tubes has a codable, readable and erasable electronic information carrying device such as a memory chip connected to a transmitting-receiving antenna arranged in the area of the central axis of the peg tray to achieve essentially the same effective contactless transmission interval to a compatible transmitting-receiving antenna of a reading, erasing and encoding device, which may be located for example stationarily along a peg tray transport conveyor, essentially without regard to the rotational disposition of the peg tray about its axis. Inductive, capacitive or electromagnetic forms of contactless coupling are possible for information transmission.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for supporting a traveling web of knit fabric. The apparatus includes an uneven number of intermediate support rollers for supporting the knit fabric web as it travels between a padding device and a take up roll. The knit web fabric passes through a pair of squeeze rollers following pad dyeing thereof at the padding device and travels in trained relation in serpentine manner about the intermediate support rollers between the pair of squeeze rollers and the take up roll. In addition to supporting the knit fabric web to prevent undesired stretching or elongation of the still damp web as it travels from the padding device, the apparatus insures that the knit fabric web is disposed on the take up roll in such a manner that the edges, to the extent they are susceptible to curling, tend to curl in a radially inward direction with respect to the take up roll, whereby succeeding lengths of the knit fabric web taken up on the take up roll compress and straighten the curling edges.

Abstract: An apparatus for transporting and exchanging containers of textile strand material at a textile strand processing machine having a plurality of processing stations is disclosed. The device includes a guide device for guiding containers around the machine. An endless drive connection reciprocally movable in the transport path and having flexible portions reciprocally movable through the corner sections of the transport path is included as well as a drive means for reciprocally driving the drive connection. Container engaging elements are also provided for drivingly engaging containers during movement of the drive connection. The drive connection may include rods disposed in the straight portions of the transport path which are connected to the flexible portions. The container engaging elements may comprise pawls mounted on transverse shafts which may be spring biased into the container engaging dispositions.

Abstract: A textile machine apparatus for handling tubes having remaining yarn thereon includes a branch path for supporting tube support members, which individually support tubes thereon, for travel to and from the discharge assembly of a textile winding machine. The tube handling apparatus also includes a sensor disposed along the discharge transport path of the tube support members from the winding stations of the textile winding machine for discriminating among tubes having no yarn thereon and tubes having remaining yarn thereon. A guide member is operatively connected to the discriminating sensor for guiding the tube support members supporting tubes having remaining yarn thereon onto the branch path for transport therealong to a tube stripping device, which strips the tubes of the remaining yarn. The stripped tubes are then returned to the discharge transport path at a location upstream of the discriminating sensor.

Abstract: An electrical junction box is formed of two identical, oppositely facing, and reversed members. Each member comprises a base, a plurality of peripheral walls extending from the base which are joined at adjacent ends thereof to form an open interior in the member. The walls of each member extend towards and engage the walls of the other member. Two of the plurality of walls of each member are oppositely disposed with one of the two walls having a projection extending in the direction of the other member and the other of the two walls having a recess disposed for receipt of the projection from the one wall of the other member in positioning the members together with facing interiors forming a closed junction box interior.

Abstract: Filter media used for removing foreign matter from an air stream flowing therethrough, which includes a pair of first and second generally flat sheets of filtering material extending in generally parallel relation to one another with a spacing therebetween. The first and second sheets are each formed with a plurality of dimples extending, respectively, inwardly toward the other of the sheets for abutment therewith to maintain the spacing between the sheets, and the dimples in one of the sheets are spaced from one another along the extending length thereof and are also spaced from the corresponding dimples in the other sheet, with such spacing preferably being equal. Also, adjacent pairs of such filter media sheets are arranged so that the dimples in the facing surfaces of adjacent pairs are offset from one another whereby clumps of foreign matter do not tend to collect and become anchored in opposed crevices formed by the dimples.

Abstract: A teaching device for indicating in real time the movement of a selected part of a person's body beyond a desired boundary limit is provided, as well as a method for teaching a person to control his or her body movement in response to alarms provided by the teaching device. The teaching device includes an element for detecting movement of the selected body part beyond a boundary limit, a first alarm element for providing a first alarm indicating encroachment of a nominal misalignment zone in which the body part is nominally out of alignment with a preferred location thereof, and a second alarm element for providing a second alarm in response to encroachment by the selected body part of a significant misalignment zone in which the selected body part is significantly out of alignment with the preferred location thereof. The first alarm provided by a first alarm element is an intermittent beeping tone and a blinking light.

Abstract: A tube transport assembly is provided for a textile machine system in which tubes having yarn or the like wound thereon are transported to, and empty tubes are transported from, a textile machine. Two different transport apparatus are each operable to transport a different kind of tube support member along a respective endless transport path. In one aspect of the present invention, an alternating positioning device alternately positions the two types of tube support members and a tube transfer device is operable to transfer the tubes and full yarn packages from the type of tube support members on which they are initially supported to the other type of tube support members. In one embodiment of the tube transport assembly, the alternating positioning device is a rotatable annular disk having a plurality of tube support member retaining positions uniformly spaced annularly thereon.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for bicycle riding instruction includes at least two auxiliary wheels mounted to the bicycle and movable between a first, lowered position and a second, raised position and a control rod for imparting directional forces to the bicycle and for moving the auxiliary wheels between the raised and lowered positions, the method for bicycle riding instruction including the steps of controlling and guiding the movement of the bicycle with the auxiliary wheels lowered, moving the auxiliary wheels into a raised position while the bicycle is in motion, controlling and guiding the bicycle movement with the auxiliary wheels in the raised position, and, finally, removing the auxiliary wheels and controlling and guiding bicycle movement with the auxiliary wheels removed.

Abstract: An optical transmission device for use on an apparatus for disposing a sleeve in encircling relation on an article unit is disclosed. Signals are sent and received between two data handling devices monitoring the machine. The first data handling device is positioned on a rotating portion of the apparatus and the second data handling device is positioned on another portion of the apparatus independent of the rotating portion. The optical transmission device comprises a first optical fiber element attached at a first end to the first rotating data handling device. The first element has an inner and an outer portion wherein the inner and outer portions are concentric. A second optical fiber element is also included and is attached at a first end to the second data handling device. The second element has an inner and an outer portion wherein the inner and outer portions are concentric and correspond to the inner and outer portions of the first element.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for woodworking and like applications to clamp structural members in abutting relation by initial formation of a pair of recesses in the structural members on a common imaginary line perpendicular to the intended joint line. The clamping apparatus has two clamping members each having an outwardly projecting engagement portion configured to fit securely in the recesses and a clamping mechanism actuable to move the clamping members and their engagement portions toward and away from one another for clamping movement along a clamping line coinciding with the imaginary line perpendicular to the intended joint line. The clamping apparatus may be used in forming virtually any edgewise abutting joint between respective structural members, e.g., miter joints, butt joints, linear edge joints, and radius edge joints.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for handling and preparing whole chickens for consumption involves severing a chicken carcass along the breast bone and opening it into a generally flat condition and suspending the chicken carcass by its legs with the legs sufficiently spread from each other to maintain the chicken in the opened generally flat condition. Embodiments of the invention in a conveyorized cooking apparatus and in a kiosk-style warming apparatus are disclosed.