Abstract: A two-way rotary manifold-selecting valve forming a combustion chamber for an internal combustion engine has a frusto-conical rotor nestingly residing in a housing having a frusto-conical passage communicating with the base of the housing. The housing has a pair of ports through the side, and the rotor has a side passage entering a portion of the slanting side of the rotor and exiting at the base of the rotor. The housing is open at the bottom, and may be affixed co-axially with a cylinder of a piston-type internal combustion engine so that the interior passage within the rotor forms the combustion volume of the cylinder. The small diameter ends of the housing passage and the rotor are disposed at the bottom of the assembly when so installed. A dry-lubricated refractory sealing assembly is emplaced around the rotor and extends outwardly therefrom to engage the inner housing surface, thus holding the rotor at a standoff distance. All wear is thus confined to the seal material and the housing wall.

Abstract: A water backup monitoring system for a buried sewer line is provided, the sewer line being provided at a given point therealong with at least one overflow opening into which opening water which cannot be handled by the sewer line will rise and overflow. A manhole extends between the sewer line and the surface and surrounding said overflow opening to permit a man to gain access to the area of said overflow opening. A standpipe in the manhole communicates with the overflow opening, into which standpipe water rises when backflow conditions exist in the sewer line. A backflow-indicating tube is provided outside of this standpipe, and into which backflow water flows from the overflow opening so that the water in the backflow-indicating tube and the standpipe are at the same level. The tube provides an indication of the level of the water therein. A one-way valve in the tube permits water to rise in the tube, but prevents it from draining therefrom.

Abstract: A fuse comprises a housing filled with arc-quenching material, terminals at the opposite ends of said housing, and a fuse element assembly in the housing connected between the terminals. The fuse element assembly has at least one short circuit blowing section and a center-melting slow blowing section, both disposed within an unpartitioned space in the housing, so that the entire body of arc-quenching material affects the short circuit blowing section of the fuse. The slow blowing fuse section has a surrounding layer of thermoplastic material which prevents the oxidation thereof and becomes plastic at the melting temperature of the time delay element. During the fuse element melting attendant to blowout, plastic deformation allows necessary geometric change in fuse element shape and facilitates collapse of the slow blowing fuse section.

Abstract: A tape looseness preventive device comprises a tape takeup reel base for rotation in response to insertion of a cassette pack into a tape player, a tape supply reel base, a head getting in pressure contact with a tape in the cassette pack a predetermined time later than the starting of rotation of the takeup reel base, and a braking mechanism locking the tape supply reel base unrotatable before full advancement of the head to the tape travelling path and unlocking the tape supply reel base upon the full advancement of the head.

Abstract: An improved fuse holder for cartridge electrical fuses features snap-in terminal clips which engage the side barrier walls of a unitary insulating mounting base. The barrier side walls partially shroud the clips from accidental contact by external objects. The metal rivet normally used to secure a fuse clip to a base is eliminated, permitting a lower fuse holder profile for a given voltage requirement. Optional additional subsequent hot-forming of a clip-engaging post on the base provides extra pull strength to the structure. A limited rotation capability of the clips facilitates fuse insertion without breakage.

Abstract: A bayonet lock for retaining the knob of a fuseholder to an axial-insertion fuseholder body is formed by camming surfaces disposed in the walls of grooves formed in the walls of the insertion passage and on the surfaces of a knob extension which enters the passage. The engaging surfaces of the lock are of insulating material. Axial insertion and rotation of the knob retains an inserted fuse. Camming surfaces are provided so that upon rotation of the fuseholder knob in an unlocking direction, these camming surfaces cause an automatic outward ejection of the fuseholder knob. Additional camming surfaces are provided to assist in insertion so that when operator pressure is released from the knob, the knob compression spring forces the knob axially outward into engagement therewith, the surfaces being configured to provide a force urging the knob in the locking direction.

Abstract: A boost circuit for providing rapid acceleration of anode rotating motors for X-Ray tubes features provision for supplying to the motor for a limited period of time a relatively high power AC excitation at a frequency well above that corresponding to the rotation speed to be maintained during exposure. Once proper operating speed is reached, the motor power supply voltage is reduced to a safe power level with respect to the stator windings, and the frequency is reduced to correspond to the desired running speed during exposure. In the preferred embodiment the changeover is governed by means of an empirically adjusted timer; however, changeover may be controlled by a variety of means.

Abstract: A method of attaching a lead to a metal end cap of an otherwise complete miniature-type safety fuse having a fuse element secured to the interior of said end caps by connecting means, is characterized in that the attaching is effected by a soldering operation which comprises holding one end of said lead against said end cap, wherein the region where attachment is to take place there is a given amount of solder, and supplying to said region a metered amount of energy in the form of one or more energy pulses producing over a given period enough total energy to melt said quantity of solder, but of insufficient total energy to penetrate through said end cap and adversely affect the bonding of said fuse element thereto.

Abstract: A substantially shortened camera for use with the 110 cassette is achieved by removing the customary dispensing spool chamber from the camera entirely, and by configuring the outer surface of the imaging station wall to closely correspond to the confronting wall of the dispensing chamber of the cassette. The rear portion of the camera is completely open to allow direct insertion of a cassette, and the customary loading door is completely eliminated. A storable slide is insertable to be captively retained by slide-engaging grooves so that the slide when inserted covers the otherwise open back of the camera. The slide retaining grooves are configured to lie in the film plane of an inserted cassette so that an inserted slide will strike a film-engaging cocking lever to actuate it to a cocking position. Insertion of the slide thus cocks the system for testing shutter operation with the cassette removed.

Abstract: An eject mechanism for ejecting automatically the tape cassette in a tape player, in which one of two switching gears disposed on both the sides of a gear plate and engaging with a forward/backward rotating gear is selectively engaged with an intermittent gear by said forward/backward rotating gear and said intermittent gear drives the driven mechanism for the eject operation, said intermittent gear being so constructed that it is locked only in the forward rotational direction.

Abstract: A simplified miniature camera features a spring-actuated shutter-striking slider member having a film-engaging finger integral therewith for engaging a film during film advance to move the striker member to an energized position. The slider member energizing spring is disposed to provide not only translational urging to the slider member, but also rotational urging to provide such film engagement. The film engaging member, as well as an arresting pawl configured to arresting engage the takeup spool gearing drive are all integral in a one-piece slider member slidably mounted to a post in the camera body. Exposure is initiated by operator actuation of a rotatable control member rotating the sliding member to disengage the film-engaging finger from its captured state in a film perforation, thereby releasing the slide to strike an impulse shutter.

Abstract: A laundry folding unit comprises a transfer conveyor on to which laundry articles are fed by a bridge mechanism from a feed conveyor. At the appropriate time the transfer conveyor is braked momentarily to allow a fold line of the article to be caught in the nip between the feed conveyor and a fold roller. Bypass is effected either by failure to operate the bridging mechanism or by failure to stop the transfer conveyor, which leads the article back to the feed path of the machine.

Abstract: The rear surfaces of sign component pieces carry printed alignment indicating direction indicia in the form of arrowheads that are of a dark color and have a glossy surface luster while the front surfaces of the pieces carry a printed background of the same color but having a flat surface luster. The direction indicia serve to indicate the alignment of the pieces for proper insertion into a changeable sign and for proper shearing from a large sheet during manufacture. The dark color and glossy surface luster reduce eye strain during the shearing of manufacture.

Abstract: A microprocessor-controlled exposure control system for a camera uses a modified analogue-to-digital ramp-type converter to trigger an amplitive comparator after a time lapse proportional to the scene brightness as sensed by a photosensor. The comparator output is interrogated at a rate algorithmically governed according to filmspeed sensings to provide an interrogation rate proportional to the filmspeed. A running tally of the number of interrogations until the comparator triggers is kept in memory storage, the resulting number being a digital representation of the filmspeed-scene brightness product. The need for algorithmic multiplication of the digital representations of these two numbers is eliminated.

Abstract: An acoustic transducer with an improved electret assembly mounting for providing spacings between the fixed and movable electrodes, and having as one feature the lowering of the undesired capacitance therebetween.

Abstract: A laundry feeding machine features a conveyor moving through a suction induction tunnel. Articles are held at their upper edges by an automatically releasing clamp to hang in front of the induction tunnel. Upon release of the clamp, a valving system is immediately actuated to apply suction to suck the article in to lie flat on the conveyor to be transported thereby. In one version of the invention, a nip roller based at the outlet of the system engages the leading edge of each article as it passes through, whereupon the valving system is actuated to suck the remainder of the article into a suction chamber having a smoothing blade at the entrance port thereof, so that as the article is drawn out of the suction chamber by the nip roller, a smoothing action occurs. A system of computer-controlled valve actuators responsive to properly laced photosensors governs all valving operations automatically.

Abstract: An electrically operated camera is operated automatically from between far-focus and near-focus lens settings responsively to ambient light sensings. The far-focus lens setting is less than infinity. Under strong lighting conditions, the aperture is automatically set between a range of values, the largest of which is no greater than the hyperfocal aperture value corresponding to the far-focus setting of the lens, thereby setting the outer boundary of the depth of field at infinity. In weak light, a flash system is automatically enabled, the lens is set to a near-focus position, and the aperture is automatically set at its maximum value. Timed energization of a single electrically operated solenoid is used to establish all settings in both modes.

Abstract: A method for assembling terminal cup-shaped end caps over the ends of cartridge-type electrical subminiature fuses during the assembly thereof has for its novel feature the provision of a centered axially extending handling wire attached to the outer face of each end cap prior to the assembly process. By configuring the lengths of the handling wires substantially longer than the dimensions of the cap itself, the use of an alignment fixture employing the wires for handling and alignment purposes allows for precise orientation of the end caps during the press-on assembly process over the ends of the fuse body. After assembly the wires are removed from their respective end caps. A shearing station suitable for mass production lead removal has upwardly extending sheraing blades with the fuses passed sequentially past the blades with their leads extending slightly over the top of the blade cutting edges.

Abstract: A gear driving mechanism for driving a power cam, etc. for a tape recorder, in which a power cam driving working elements by its normal rotation is driven by a motor and the rotation direction of the motor is reversed for the purpose of loading, eject, etc. The mechanism is so constructed that a pivoting gear pivoting depending on the rotation direction of the motor is disposed at the motor side; a normal and a reverse rotation gear engaging with each other is disposed at the gear side; the pivoting gear at the motor side is engaged with one of the normal and the reverse rotation gear when the motor rotates in the normal direction, and with the other when it is pivoted by the reverse of the rotation of the motor.

Abstract: An intermittent gear wheel lock mechanism includes major engaging portions and secondary engaging portions formed on one surface of an intermittent gear wheel and spaced by a predetermined distance. When an unlock lever is inserted, and a lock member is detached from the major engaging portion, the lock member is moved to the movement path of the secondary engaging portion while the unlock member remains in the inserted position, so that the lock member engages the secondary engaging portion which reaches there as the intermittent gear wheel rotates, and locks the intermittent gear wheel unrotatable. When the unlock lever returns to its original position, the lock member moves from the secondary engaging portion to the movement path of the major engaging portion and engages same to lock the intermittent gear wheel unrotatable.