Abstract: Cotton seed are mechanically delinted by a process such as abrasion. To prevent the heat produced by the mechanical delinting from damaging the germination of the seed, the seed are mechanically cooled, or chilled, or refrigerated, to prevent the interior of the seed from being heated above 140.degree.. One method of chilling the seed is by spraying the seed with liquid nitrogen immediately before delinting.

Abstract: A guidance system is provided for a cotton picker. The cotton pickers commercially on the market have lifting plates on each of the gathering heads to lift the lower limbs of the cotton plant. To make the wands of the detection of the position of the row operate satisfactorily the limbs are bunched together by bunching plates above the lifting plates. The effective width of the bunching plates is adjustable by an adjustment plate on top of the bunching plate. The wands are straps of metal made from plate rather than rods, as generally used for crop detection purposes. The wands are mounted for pivoting about a shaft which extends from the bunching plate to the lifting plate.

Abstract: A sawless lint cleaner receives the cotton as doffed from the gin stand in an airstream. The lint is deflected toward spiked cylindrical rollers of a cleaner and wiped across a grating at a speed about equal to the airspeed. The grating is in cylindrical segments as close to the spikes as tolerance will permit. The grating is composed of parallel bars approximately 5 mm thick spaced 13 mm apart and angled about 15.degree. from the radial line of the shaft of the spiked cylinder. Trash passes through the grating. The lint is reunited with the air at the end of the cleaner and conveyed to a condenser. The condenser separates the air and forms the lint into a batt for further cleaning by a typical saw lint cleaner.

Abstract: Thin metal adaptor rings fit over the elastomeric seal rings holding an orifice plate within a fitting. The thin metal rings have an inside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the pipe line and fitting. Therefore, the inside diameter is maintained without variations as previously resulted from protrusion or recess tolerances of the elastomeric seal rings. The seal ring is modified with notches to hold the thin metal adaptor rings in the desired position.

Abstract: Rod guides having four axial flutes separating four axial ribs are telescoped over sucker rods for water wells. The bore of the guides have a taper or bell from a tight fitting or snug fitting cylindrical section within the guides toward a bell or flare end. The adhesive fills the annular space between the bell or flare and the sucker rod to form a wedge to attach the guide to the sucker rod. Two guides on each joint of the sucker rod are aligned so that five sucker rods may be formed into a bundle with the guides staggered on different rods of the bundle to prevent interference and so that the rods nest into the flutes of the guides to form a compact bundle before the rods are bundled for shipment.

Abstract: Seed cotton is cleaned in a cotton gin by wiping it over grid bars having a large gap between them. In this manner more cotton per hour may be cleaned. Excessive seed cotton falling through the grid bars with the trash is reclaimed by saw cylinder reclaimers. The cotton with the least amount of trash has the trash from a preliminary reclaimer going to the saw cylinder receiving cotton with more trash. The seed cotton which has been reclaimed may be further cleaned by wiping it across a grid bar and thereafter reclaiming any cotton which might go through the grid bars of the reclamation wiper cleaner. By-passes are provided to by-pass the cleaner cotton that passes through grid bars into the main stream of cleaned cotton. Also, the cotton which is first reclaimed can be passed into the stream of clean cotton without further cleaning.

Abstract: A power tubing tong is modified by removing the gripping jaws and in attaching a sucker rod break-out adapter where the gripping jaws would normally be placed. The adapter includes a vise anvil and a vise block so that a sucker rod may be securely, rigidly fastened by a vise bolt moving the vise block so that the sucker rod is between the vise block and the vise anvil. This provides a tong capable of breaking a sucker rod joint when the pump attached to the bottom of the sucker rod is stuck. In use, the adapted tong would be used to break a sucker rod at some point between the surface of the earth and the pump when it was desired to pull the pump for routine maintenance and repair.

Abstract: The housing of a cotton gin lint condenser is divided into four segments, namely: the lint inlet segment, the moist air inlet segment, the doffing chamber segment, and the dry air inlet segment. In operation, as the drum rotates a cotton batt is formed in the lint inlet segment. The batt is rotated to the humid air inlet segment where moisture is added to the batt by passing warm humid air through the batt. The moisturized batt is then rotated to the doffing chamber segment where the batt is doffed from the drum. The drum is then rotated to the dry air segment where dry air removes the moisture from the drum. The warm moist air moves beneath the lint slide to warm the lint slide surface to maintain it in a dry condition so that the lint does not stick thereto. Compression rollers are contained within the doffing chamber segment. The compression rollers have about the same diameter as the doffing rollers to prevent excessive lint from sticking to them.

Abstract: A filter holder is formed with a rectangular frame. The frame has two elements which are telescoped together. The filter is held within a channel when the frame is assembled. The channel is formed with a lip from each of the two elements. A retaining screen is attached to the lips of one of the elements to prevent the filter from billowing.

Abstract: A carrier for a row follower is pivoted to the front of an agricultural tractor by a horizontal carrier pivot which is at right angles to the direction of travel of the tractor. This pivot permits the carrier to pivot away from the tractor in the event the tractor is reversed in direction of travel while the row follower is in the operating position. The row follower is connected to an encoder housing. The encoder housing is mounted upon an assembly pivot bolt so that it may be tilted to a carry position which raises to horizontal position, a shank which carries the row follower. The tilting of the encoder is accomplished by a solenoid which is primarily controlled from the cab of the tractor. The row follower shank is biased to be in a position aligned with the direction of travel. Also, the row follower shank is limited by the prongs of a fork to a maximum limited deviation from the alignment with the direction of travel so that it does not swing wildly.

Abstract: Acid gas (a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide) is absorbed by produced water from hydrocarbon wells. The acid gas is absorbed in the produced water in a static mixer. The time from the entry of the produced water into the static mixer to its exit is less than ten seconds. The produced water with the absorbed acid gas is pressurized to flow through a pipeline to an injection pump. The injection pump injects the produced water with the absorbed acid gas into injection wells which return the produced water into disposal strata. The produced water with the acid gas is maintained at a pressure higher than the pressure at the exit of the static mixer.

Abstract: A boll buggy includes a basket upon a wheeled frame. The basket is translationally elevated to a height so that the bottom of the basket is higher than the top of a module maker. Seed cotton is transferred from the basket into the module maker by chains running along the bottom of the basket and extended panel. Cotton is loaded into the basket on the boll buggy by moving the boll buggy alongside a cotton harvester and extending a load door from the basket to receive cotton from the cotton harvester.

Abstract: A high vibration sprinkler is hung from a movable, elongated pipe by a flexible hose. The connection of the hose to the sprinkler is by rigid, poly-vinyl chloride plastic hose barbs, tubes and fittings. The PVC connections dampen and tolerate the vibration of the sprinkler.

Abstract: An encoder is mounted upon a vehicle within a sealed, tubular housing. The encoder is mounted within the housing by a shock absorbing mount. Stub shafts extend from each end of the tubular housing which are co-axial and which are aligned with a direction of movement of the vehicle. The stub shafts are sturdy and carry a row follower upon them. The row follower contacts a path to be followed along the ground. At least one of the sturdy stub shafts are connected to the encoder by a shock absorbing, flexible coupling. The encoder translates signals by which the vehicle is guided along the path contacted by the row follower.

Abstract: A screw gun has a flat planar work face adapted to be placed flat against the work. An activator extending from the work face advances a screw along a guideway from a magazine to a driving position. A power unit is independently activated to drive the screw into the work. The screws in the magazine and guideway are mounted upon a flexible strip which has a body at the screw. The body has knobs extending on either side which fit within a groove of the guideway. The strip with the screws therein form a "Z" fold within the magazine and are guided from the magazine by a feed section which has one concave side and one convex side.

Abstract: Warm air is distributed through a device and diffused along a person's body who is lying under a blanket. Warm air is supplied to the invention from a base unit that has various settings with respect to temperature of air supplied to the invention. The device has three distribution tubes that are long enough to extend from a person's feet to their upper torso while they are lying down. Heating takes place both conductively where the device is in contact with the patient and convectively where the warmed air circulates about the skin. The device is constructed from a light weight tissue paper that is plastic coated on one side and perforated at regular intervals. Heated air is supplied to the invention near the person's feet and is channeled to the several tubes toward the person's upper body. The heated air diffuses through perforations in the tubes as it moves up through the tubes and warms or maintains the body temperature of the patient.

Abstract: An equipment trailer particularly designed to transport as many as two forklifts at one time, having a trap door in the bed so that a forklift may be positioned on the trailer for maintenance to the lower portions of the forklift. The bed of the trailer is mounted within a U-shaped frame which has lifting mechanisms at the front and rear of the trailer to tilt the trailer bed as desired by the operator. The bed may be locked in a travel position to the arms of the U-shaped frame in such a way that excessive torque or longitudinal twisting couplings are not exerted upon the arms.

Abstract: An intravascular prostheses is delivered transarterially or transvenously to occlude cardiac defects. The defects, which may include the patent ductus arteriosus, the ventricular septal defect and the atrial septal defect. The prostheses is a device having a distal occluder attached to a string and a proximal occluder connected to the string. The occluders are delivered to the heart by known methods. With the distal occluder on the distal side of the defect and the proximal occluder on the proximal side of the defect the occluders are adjusted according to the thickness of the heart structure at the defect. In one embodiment the adjustment is by moving the distal occluder over a series of knots or buttons in the string. In another embodiment the proximal occluder is connected to the distal occluder by an elastic string so that the elastic tension of the strings bring the occluders into position. A radiopaque button is placed upon the string to aid positioning the occluders.

Abstract: A housing contains a gate or arm to extend to the driver's side of a school bus to stop vehicular traffic at the back of the bus. The housing and the arm are located at the back of the bus by attaching it to the rear bumper of existing bus. For new buses, the housing can be built into the body of the bus on the driver's side near the rear. A stop sign, at eye level, is also extended from the driver's side of the bus. In a preferred embodiment, the sign is extended responsive to the opening of the passenger door on the school bus. As soon as the sign begins its outward movement, flashing lights are activated, a sound alarm is activated. After a short delay, the gate in the form of an arm is extended from the housing. To retrieve the arm and sign, the arm is brought in first and as soon as the arm is retracted it activates a limit switch which begins the sign retraction and when the sign is retracted a limit switch will deactivate the flashing lights and audible device.

Abstract: A pharyngo-laryngeal compound speculum includes a mouth speculum having a pole strap and two bars which may be inserted into the mouth of an animal and moved to open the mouth of the animal. One of the bars is rotatable and a guide ring is mounted on the rotatable bar. A cylindrical, tubular speculum may be inserted through the guide ring for visualization of the larynx and to gain access to passages for instruments through the tubular speculum into the larynx and the lower reaches of the trachea and bronchi to gain specimens and administer treatments. Also, the same instruments result in the visualization and the access to the opening of the esophagus of animals allows passage of instruments into the esophagus.