Abstract: Disclosed is an air-applied, mechanically-held brake assembly and a vehicle air brake system employing the same. The air brake system typically includes a push-pull or hand-brake valve for park and emergency applications, a treadle valve for service applications, reservoirs of air under pressure, and other valving and plumbing. The brake assembly applies and releases the brake upon the supply and exhaust, respectively, of air from a first pressure chamber. The brake assembly locks and unlocks the brake in an applied position by the exhaust and supply, respectively, of air from a second pressure chamber. The locking mechanism of the brake assembly is designed to compound the force of the fluid pressure in the first pressure chamber with the force of the fluid pressure supplied to the second pressure chamber when unlocking the brake to compensate for back pressure.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided that comprise the use of a water-filled vessel having two vertical sections and two horizontal sections that connect the respective upper and lower ends of the vertical sections. A sprocket is mounted for rotation with a horizontal output shaft in one of the horizontal sections, and an idler pulley is mounted for rotation in the other horizontal section. An endless drive chain carrying a plurality of gas receptacles, or buckets encircles the sprocket and the idler pulley within the vessel. A gas inlet is positioned at the bottom of the vessel such that a portion of the gas entering the vessel enters the open ends of the downwardly facing buckets and forces part of the water out of the buckets. The hydrostatic pressure of the water exerts an upward buoyant force on the gas in the bucket moving the bucket upwardly.

Abstract: This invention relates to a large capacitor for accumulating electrical energy. In particular, to a capacitor with a double electric layer comprising an electrolyte; at least one pair of electrolyte impregnated electrodes which are elastically compressible and independently, mechanically stable; and a separator also impregnated with electrolyte for being in between and in contact with both of the at least one pair of electrolytic impregnated electrodes for ionic conductance but electronically separating the electrodes; at least one pair of electrolytes impermeable and electrolyte inert current collectors in contact respectively with the at least one pair of the electrolyte impregnated electrodes; and an insulating gasket for separating the electrolyte impermeable and electrolytic inert collectors.In at least some embodiments of this capacitor, the electrolytic impregnated electrodes are composed of various forms of carbon particles in combination with porous elastic dielectrics and polymer binders.

Abstract: A tufted carpet comprising a base and a plurality of tufts. Each of the tufts have a looped portion on an underside of the base. The looped portions are fused to the underside of the base and to adjacent looped portions using heat and pressure, thereby forming a homogeneous layer of the looped portions on the underside of the base.

Abstract: An improved reduced distortion spring spider for geophones is disclosed that has the desired ratio of spurious resonant frequency to the natural frequency of the geophone and can absorb the sharp lateral forces imposed on the geophone during destructive testing and field usage.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for supplying vacuum and compressed air utilities for dental and medical applications. The apparatus comprises a reciprocating piston air compressor for simultaneously producing vacuum pressure at an intake valve thereof and compressed air at an exhaust valve thereof, the vacuum being used to draw air, water vapor, and effluent such as bodily fluids and tissue through a conduit. Effluent and water vapor are separated from the air stream and discharged into a drain. The desired vacuum is maintained by a regulator carried by the compressor. A receiver is also carried by the compressor for receiving and storing the compressed air from the compressor.

Abstract: A device for the treatment of polluted water having a primary chamber, a principal distribution chamber with an inlet connected to a source of polluted water, a secondary distribution chamber connected to a supply of polluted water, an air inlet orifice formed in the primary chamber for allowing air to pass into the primary chamber, a venturi connected in fluid communication with the primary chamber, and a drain pipe connected to the venturi. The principal distribution chamber has a spray nozzle connected thereto and positioned in the primary chamber. The secondary distribution chamber has a high-speed nozzle positioned within the primary chamber and directed toward the venturi. The venturi is a cone-shaped member with a wide end adjacent to the primary chamber and a narrow end adjacent to the drain pipe. The venturi is positioned below the primary chamber so as to accelerate a flow of an air/water mixture passing from the primary chamber.

Abstract: A pipe protector has been designed to provide free flow and low energy. The outside surface has a bilateral asymmetrical pattern when comparing the approximate top half of the pipe protector to the bottom half of the pipe protector. The pattern has raised figures surrounded by communicating channels.

Abstract: A tool for use in opening a locked door from its outer side by means of a rotatable doorknob on the inner side of the door is provided. The tool comprises an arm having a cup rotatably carried thereby and a handle manipulable from the outer side of the door. The cup is collapsible to permit it to pass with the arm under the door, but is normally expanded to a shape enabling it to fit over the doorknob. When the cup is passed with the arm beneath the door, the arm and the cup may be rotated by the handle to a position in which the open side of the cup is opposite the doorknob and then drawn back by the handle toward the inner side of the door to permit the cup to fit over the doorknob. Means are attached to the cup that is operable from the outer side of the door to cause the cup to grip and then rotate the doorknob to permit the door to be opened.

Abstract: A pile cap of homogeneous material is disclosed that includes a top member part having a relatively large top area and a base member part having a correspondingly smaller bottom area. The sides of at least the bottom member part are thereby tapered. The bottom area preferably includes a recess for accommodating the top of a cylindrical pile. The shape distributes even an unbalanced load having an off-center moment of force to the top of the pile without creating potentially damaging shear stresses along the sides of the pile cap.

Abstract: The apparatus of the invention is a segmented pig body having an electrical instrumentation subassembly mounted thereto. The subassembly consists of a plurality sensors for electromagnetically coupling to the inner surface of the pipeline, each of which generates a signal that varies as the localized relative permeability of the pipeline metal; an odometer assembly for generating correlating data; and an instrument for recording the signal and data for later analysis. The method of the invention comprises passing the pig through the pipeline while it is electromagnetically coupled by the sensors to the inner surface of the pipeline. During the pass, signals varying with the localized magnetic permeability of the pipeline wall and correlative data are generated and recorded. After the pass, the correlative data is used to correlate the signals to wall locations to locate stress occurrences.

Abstract: A foil journal bearing comprising a housing having an opening to receive the journal of a shaft, and a plurality of foil supports extending longitudinally through the opening. The foil supports having arcuate inner and outer surfaces and are positioned to transversely surround the journal. An endless foil element encircles each foil support in a direction transverse the longitudinal axis of the element to engage and support the journal. Rods are positioned between the outer arcuate surface of each foil support and respective foil element that are movable relative to the foil support for varying the stiffness of each foil element.

Abstract: There are disclosed methods and apparatus for perforating and treating zones of a well, as by hydraulic fracturing, stimulating and acidizing, and otherwise performing related activities within a well, wherein a plurality of perforating assemblies containing shaped charges are connected as part of a casing liner which is lowered into a well bore and then anchored therein by a column of cement in the annulus between the liner and bore to locate the assemblies opposite zones in a horizontal section of the well. Work strings are lowered into selected assemblies to cause tools carried thereby to sequentially detonate the shaped charges to perforate the zone opposite thereto and to selectively open or close the perforated zones by shifting a sleeve within a housing of the assembly as well as treating the perforated zones.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is described for anchoring a well screen on a stainless steel perforated mandrel without the use of welds in which cup-shaped members, each having a base and an annular wall, are positioned on the mandrel at each end of the screen with the walls of the cups extending partly over the screen and filling the annular cavities between the walls of the cups and the ends of the screen with a liquid adhesive epoxy to anchor the cups to the mandrel.

Abstract: A sorting machine for separating substandard items from a continuous stream of products is disclosed wherein the ejector that removes the detected substandard items includes an ejector finger and an actuator. The ejector finger includes a flexible elongate base member fixedly attached with respect to the product stream and a contactor normally withdrawn from the product stream when standard products are in the stream and for entering the product stream to eject a detected substandard item. The actuator flexes the flexible elongate base member to move the ejector contactor so that it enters the product stream for ejecting each detected substandard item. The flexible elongate base member make the ejector more resistant to wear from environmental conditions. A flexible sorting machine ejector mounting mechanism is also disclosed which removes costly mounting mechanisms.

Abstract: A remotely operated actuator for a drill string internal blowout preventer is disclosed. It includes an annular cylinder for mounting on the preventer housing to rotate with the housing and the kelly. An annular piston in the cylinder moves a link pivotally connected to the piston and a crank arm to open and close the preventer.

Abstract: A photo-optical detector for use in a multichromatic sorting machine, each detector including at least two separate photodiode materials responsive to a different spectral range and a multipeak optical filter having transmission response characteristics that are respectively defined in a frequency spectrum of the respective spectral ranges of the materials. The sorting machine using such detectors can be selectively programmed using the various resulting signals from the detectors after appropriate amplification and threshold detection to cause resulting ejection mechanism activation.

Abstract: A self-piloting compressible piling is provided comprising a plurality of pre-formed pile sections having bores therethrough and adapted to be arranged in end-to-end relation such that the bores are concentrically collinear. An auger plate is positioned beneath the lowest of the sections and has an upper face and lower face. The lower face of the plate has a plurality of curved blades extending therefrom. The plate further has a flared bore concentrically collinear with the bores of the piling sections through its center such that the diameter of the hole is greater on the upper face than on the lower face. A tension-bearing cable having a collapsible lock-jaw mechanism secured to one end thereof is provided which is extendable from above the highest of the piling sections through the bores of the sections and the bore of the plate and engageable with the lower face of the plate for loading the sections and the plate in compression.

Abstract: A self-cooled electrodynamic loudspeaker including a magnetic structure comprising a pole piece and a magnet arranged around the pole piece, a coil being capable of moving reciprocatingly between the piece and a magnet under the effect of a magnetic flux created across a magnetic gap formed between the pole piece and the magnet, the pole piece including at least two channels adjacent to the voice coil for the passage of cooling air, each channel continuously extending from an upper face of the piece, partially along a periphery of the piece and into a central cavity of the piece, the cavity being closed at the upper face of the piece and open into a lower face of the piece.

Abstract: A mounting plate is disclosed that is adapted to be positioned between a main flow line and at least two differential pressure transmitters, to place the two differential pressure transmitters in fluid communication with a pair of pipeline taps on opposite sides of a flow reducing orifice plate in the main flow line is disclose. The mounting plate includes a plate-like body generally rectangular in cross section along its longitudinal axis and longer than it is wide along its transverse axis. The plate-like body includes a pair of ports that extend through the body and are in fluid communication with the pair of pressure taps with the longitudinal axis of the body parallel to the main flow line. A plurality of passageways or bores extend into the body to connect the ports to various combinations of pressure transmitters.