Abstract: To supply heat to the passenger compartment of an automobile car body immediately upon entering it, an approximately triangular housing has two branch outlet ducts converging from the opposite ends of a main inlet cross duct including a fan chamber containing a reversible electric fan. This fan initially draws cold air into the fan chamber of the main inlet cross duct and forces it through an electric heating coil and then through one of the two converging branch outlet ducts to a common outlet containing a freely pivoted damper which in response to the pressure of the forced air swings to cut off air flow from the other converging branch outlet duct and at the same time directs the heated air through a horizontal transverse duct into the passenger compartment.

Abstract: Immediately above the connection at the center of the head of this golf putter to its shaft, the latter has a forwardly-extending elongated horizontal primary lower aiming portion perpendicular to the center of the forward face of the putter head. An upwardly-inclined intermediate secondary aiming portion of the shaft extends from the forward end of the lower aiming portion to the lower end of the handle-attached upper portion of the shaft which is approximately aligned with the rearward face of the putter head. The lower and intermediate shaft portions lie approximately in a vertical plane perpendicular to the forward face of the putter head and passing through the center of that forward face.

Abstract: To precisely scratch a sheet of glass and then tap it to sever it into two separate pieces of glass while maintaining perpendicularity of the glass cutter handle to the glass surface, without twisting the wrist or arm while applying downward pressure, the rigid handle of this glass cutter approximately midway between the cutting wheel and the upper servering hammer portion is provided with a rigid widened portion through which the user's index finger is inserted during the application by it of downward pressure for scratching the glass. This apertured rigid widened portion is then grasped by the fingers to assist and precisely guide the cutter handle while tapping the scratched glass with the hammer head to separate the glass portions on opposite sides of the scratch.

Abstract: This adhesive tape dispenser is of one-piece construction with a flat horizontal rectangular base portion adapted to rest on the table. A flat rectangular tape-roll-holding portion rises at an acute angle to the base portion and has an inclined tape-roll-receiving slot of rectangular outline, the width of which corresponds to the width of the tape and the length of which is slightly smaller than the minimum diameter of the tape on the core upon which the tape is unwound. Rising from the opposite end of the base portion is a tape severing portion at the top of which is a horizontal edge provided with cutoff saw teeth.A modification has stepped upper and lower edges of the slot adapted to receive tape rolls of either of two standard tape widths.

Abstract: A constant-speed continuously-running low-powered diesel engine or turbine drives a two-phase alternator, the output from which, for direct drive, flows to the stator pole piece windings of four independently-rotating stepping motors operating synchronously with the alternator. Each stepping motor is connected to a traction wheel of a motor vehicle, thereby propelled at a limited maximum speed sufficiently to overcome normal wind resistance over a level road. In starting, during acceleration, and for propulsion at higher speeds, direct current from a storage battery is caused to pulsate and is added to the current from the alternator to the stepping motors. A control circuit selectively controls the frequency of a variable frequency generator electrically connected to the pulse-responsive electrical power system to vary the frequency of the current supplied to the stepping motors and thus vary the vehicle speed. During idling, the alternating current from the alternator is rectified and recharges the battery.

Abstract: An elongated stiff tubular body of preferably heat-insulating material, such as cardboard, has a flexible plastic cover which is held in place at its upper end between a pair of discs interconnected by fasteners. The upper disc forms the base of a cushion of flexible padding within a flexible plastic cover. The plastic cover of the body is reversely bent around the lower end thereof and is clamped within the interior thereof by a tubular clamping member which also holds in place the upwardly-bent peripheral portion of a flexible closure of sheet material equipped with an arcuate opening closed by a circular slide fastener. A grooved base ring encircles the lower end of the body and its cover. Also held in place between the lower disc at the top of the body and the tubular clamping member at its lower end is a hollow cylindrical coating or wall of heat-insulating material, such as foam plastic. A carrying strap is secured to the body near its opposite ends for placing over the usual shoulder.

Abstract: For feeding short rods, which term includes tubes, such as clinical thermometer tubes with bulbs at one end, a feeding hopper has downwardly-converging bottom walls terminating in an elongated gap between their lower edges forming an elongated slot. Reciprocable horizontally beneath the slot is fluid-pressure-operated ejector plunger which feeds, one at a time, the short rods to a horizontal receiver composed of a pair of spaced parallel guide bars separated by a distance large enough to pass the rod but to detain the bulb, whereupon the rod pivots around the detained bulb to swing downward into the slot and comes to rest between the bars with the bulb uppermost and the rod suspended vertically from the bars.

Abstract: Each welding cable terminal component, such as a semi-cylindrical terminal half, near its rearward end is provided with a semi-cylindrical recess in which the cable conductors are received and held in position by a clip in the form of an endless band having a partially cylindrical external portion snugly fitting a corresponding external semi-cylindrical groove in the terminal component. A chordal inner portion of the clip is pressed forcibly into compressing engagement with the ends of the cable conductors within the recess, whereupon molten solder is flowed into the recess under the clip between the hair-like wires of the strands of the cable conductors, thereby forcibly holding the cable conductors firmly in the recess while the solder permeates the entire cable conductor ends within the recess. The terminal components of which there are at least two, are then assembled with an insulating strip between them and clamped together, as by bolts.

Abstract: Mounted upon a servo-motor-driven longitudinally-reciprocable X-axis carriage is a servo-motor-driven laterally-reciprocable Y-axis carriage carrying an air cylinder with a vertically-reciprocable and rotatable piston rod. Mounted atop the piston rod is a fixed horizontal arm carrying a rotary actuator and a reciprocating motor respectively rotating and reciprocating a movable horizontal arm mounted on the fixed arm. Also mounted on said fixed arm and rotatable by a stepping motor is a horizontal narrow-angle video camera with high resolving power. An inclined reflector mounted on the outer end of said movable arm reflects into the horizontal camera light rays from articles underneath on a work carrier. A stationary vertical overhead wide angle video camera of lower resolving power is fixedly mounted above said work carrier and focussed thereupon.

Abstract: An elongated approximately C-shaped frame with a handle portion above an elongated hand hole has downwardly-projecting arms depending from its forward and rearward ends. The forward arm is bifurcated by being keyhole-slotted vertically into a pair of laterally-spaced L-shaped fingers which straddle the spike and the tubular spacer surrounding it within the gutter. The rearward depending arm is provided with an impact abutment for receiving hammer blows during use. A strengthening rib extending along the body between the depending portions imparts rigidity to the frame. In the first stage of its use, the forward depending arm is moved over the top of the gutter and dropped around the tubular spacer, then pulled toward the user until the flat ends of the fingers engage the inner surface of the outer gutter wall directly beneath the spike. A hammer blow on the abutment on the rearward arm pulls spike, spacer and gutter bodily a short distance away from the building wall to which they are attached.

Abstract: Releasably attached to the rod of a conventional towel rack by means of a pair of horizontally-spaced wedge-shaped undulating spring brackets is the top shelf of a double-shelf cabinet having end plates depending from the top shelf to a bottom shelf. Extending between the end plates near the forward upper corners thereof is an auxiliary or supplementary towel rod. The cabinet is attached to the rod of a conventional towel rack by lowering the brackets upon it between it and the wall to which the towel rack is attached, the wedge-shaped undulating form of the brackets causing them to snap into fixed recessed positions relatively to the towel rod and to be held therein by the wedging action. Pushing inward on the bottoms of the brackets disengages them from the towel rack whereupon the cabinet may be lifted off the towel rack.

Abstract: Vertically bored for horizontally swingable mounting on a vertical pivot pin fixed in a base is an upstanding mirror holder support post containing a horizontal partly-cylindrical recess thereacross, the horizontal axis of which intersects the vertical axis of the pivot pin. Mating with the partly-cylindrical recess and coaxial therewith is a horizontal partly-cylindrical convex mirror holder with a flat front mirror mounting face thereon. A first set screw locks the post in its horizontally-adjustable position relatively to the pivot pin, whereas a second set screw locks the mirror holder in its vertically-adjusted position relatively to the mirror holder support post.

Abstract: This two-stage speed reduction transmission has an input shaft which drives a first-stage fly-wheel rotating on a primary axis but having a rim annularly grooved eccentrically on a secondary axis to carry bearing balls engaging a correspondingly annularly-grooved internally-toothed ring gear which is also externally-toothed to mesh with stationary internal teeth in the housing, so that it can oscillate but not rotate. Meshing with this first-stage ring gear is a first-stage spur gear with a lesser number of teeth also rotatable upon the primary axis, the eccentricity between the primary and secondary axes being sufficient to permit clearance of the first-stage spur gear with the teeth of the first-stage internal ring gear on the side opposite its meshing location therewith.

Abstract: Water from a tank is drawn upward by suction created by the vacuum in the carburetor air cleaner or in the engine intake manifold through a filter containing synthetic sponge material sandwiched between upper and lower layers of glass wool, where it passes through a heat exchanger coil which is heated by being positioned adjacent the exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine. There it is vaporized into steam and then passes either through an inlet port into the base of the engine carburetor or directly into the intake manifold. The steam thus produced expands and mixes with and vaporizes the unvaporized droplets of gasoline in the gasoline vapor, breaking up these droplets into gasoline vapor before they can enter the intake manifold.

Abstract: This hunting arrowhead has a pair of opposed flanged longitudinally-slotted ferrule halves with a slotted main blade held between them and a tapered socket rearwardly thereof for receiving the end of the shaft. Insertable by a sliding motion into the slots in the ferrule halves is a generally triangular auxiliary blade having a continuous and unbroken rim and containing an elongated narrow tapered slot into which snap lugs or wings along one edge of the ferrule slots which are otherwise of elongated narrow pointed shape. The rearward end of the auxiliary blade terminates in a truncated obtuse-angled end which, when the auxiliary blade is fully seated in the ferrule slots, lies close to the rearward blunt ends of the ferrule slots. A dull or damaged auxiliary blade is removed and replaced by reversing the sliding motion employed in its insertion.

Abstract: A multiplicity of rectangular base blocks or toppling member carriers are drilled to form aligned bores for the reception of a flexible pull cord and are spaced apart from each other by ovoid bead-like spacers. Mounted on each base block or toppling member carrier transversely to the cord bore is the lower leaf of a hinge, the upper leaf of which carries a channel clip member having a recess adapted to grip and hold the lower end of a toppling member, such as a domino. In operation, when a leading toppling member is pushed backward it topples backward and consequently causes the trailing toppling members to topple backward in succession. The toppling members are reset into their upright positions by passing a finger forwardly along their side edges.

Abstract: A rotary shaft carries a generally cylindrical composite rotor consisting of an inner cylindrical hub surrounded by a resilient undulatory spring sleeve which in turn is surrounded by a resilient cylindrical spring sleeve. Between the rotor and the internally cylindrical housing is an annular working chamber subdivided into compression and combustion chambers within which multiple cylindrical pistons of slightly greater diameter than the radial distance between the housing and rotor are snugly but orbitally rollable. Tangentially slidable in wedge-shaped recesses in the opposite end walls are upper piston-retarding wedges which are pushed backward into temporary braking engagement with the opposite ends of a leading piston immediately forward thereof in response to the pressure of the exploding gases in the combustion chamber which also propel forward to exhaust ports a piston ahead of the leading piston.

Abstract: For fluid interchange treatment, such as for heat exchanging or chemical interaction between a descending liquid and a rising gas, a flexible structure is provided which consists of stacked horizontal partition walls formed from pairs of sheets of non-woven fabric material, such as felt, heat-joined by plastic coatings on their inner surfaces and disposed in vertically-spaced parallel arrangement and sealed at their sides by accordion-folded sheets of flexible material. The paired sheets forming the spaced parallel partition walls of the structure contain ports which are arranged offset relatively to one another in successive sheets so that any fluid passing from top to bottom or vice-versa of the thus-formed cellular structure will pursue a zigzag path.

Abstract: Attachable to and instantly detachable from a front leg of a wheel chair is a bracket component including an inclined tubular arm and an approximately semi-cylindrical upright attachment member including a lower hook portion with its open side facing away from the inclined arm and an approximately semi-cylindrical upper hook portion spaced vertically away from the lower hook portion with its open side facing toward the inclined arm and connected to the upper end of an extension thereof with a gap between said hook portions. A foot rest component has a stem telescopingly engaging and attached to the lower part of the inclined arm. To attach the device to a wheel chair leg, the operator swings the device 90 degrees so that the semi-cylindrical hook portions are horizontal, whereupon he pushes the gap between them around the wheel chair leg until the leg abuts the connecting portion between the semi-cylindrical hook portions, whereupon he swings the device back to its normal vertical position.