Abstract: A safety device for a drive unit adapted for manual and powered driven movement of a drive shaft. The safety device includes a brake operably associated with the drive shaft for preventing manual and powered driven movement of the drive shaft. It also includes a manual input for releasing the brake and effecting manual driven movement of the drive shaft and a powered input for releasing the brake and effecting powered driven movement of the drive shaft. With this arrangement, the safety device is such that the powered input is operable to disengage the manual input before effecting powered driven movement of the drive shaft.

Abstract: An electro-magnetic induction heater has a heating coil which defines a throat through which a metal strip (moving towards a plastics film laminating station) passes thereby to be heated to a laminating temperature. The coil turns are flexible, and are braced at spaced positions in braces which are mounted for movement towards and away from the metal strip. Each brace has an associated adjustment means. The positions of the respective braces are adjusted during heating, preferably automatically, so as to adapt the coil throat shape to the varying cross section (and/or other characteristics) of the strip to be heated, thereby to ensure uniform temperature distribution across the width of the strip. Under automatic control each adjustment means is operated in closed loop manner by associated actuating means in response to deviation from a reference level of a sensed temperature signal provided by an associated sensor positioned adjacent the emergent heated strip.

Abstract: A binding line including at least first and second binding line sections. The first binding line section is adapted to transport books therealong to a book exit station and the second binding line section is adapted to transport books therealong from a book entry station. The binding line includes a book transferring mechanism or subsystem for moving books from the book exit station of the first binding line section to the book entry station of the second binding line section as well as devices associated with book leaving the book exit station and books entering the book entry station for tracking books during transfer from the first binding line section to the second binding line section. The first binding line section can run at the same or a different speed than the second binding line section. In addition, the binding line can include asynchronous or synchronous multiple first and/or second binding line sections.

Abstract: A system for adjusting a finishing head relative to an impression cylinder in a printing, duplicating and like machine wherein copy sheets are fed through a printing couple and then to a finishing couple which includes the impression cylinder. The finishing head includes a finishing wheel for penetrating a copy sheet on the impression cylinder, and the head is mounted on a bar which is rotatably mounted between side frame plates of the machine. A preliminary adjusting mechanism is provided between the head and the bar for preliminarily adjusting the position of the finishing wheel relative to the bar. The bar is removably mounted between the side frame plates so that the preliminary adjustment can be made away from the machine. A very fine adjusting system is provided on the machine, operatively associated with the bar and including a dial on the outside of one of the side frame plates to provide fine adjustment of the finishing wheel while the machine is operating.

Abstract: An ice dispensing apparatus includes a rotatable drum dispenser and an adjacent floating baffle, the baffle having an opening for ice bodies to pass from the drum dispenser to an ice crusher mechanism. The drum dispenser has blade augers spaced from the baffle a select distance and operate in connection with the baffle opening to prevent wedging of ice bodies.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a composite structure having at least one skin molecularly bonded to a core. A skin is provided of reinforcing fibrous material and a thermoplastic matrix. The skin is thermoformed to the general exterior shape of the composite structure. A core having a thermoplastic matrix complementary to the matrix of the skin is molded into the general shape of the composite structure. The skin and the core are placed in juxtaposition in a final forming mold. A thermoplastic material is injected into the final forming mold under isostatic conditions. The thermoplastic material is complementary to the thermoplastic matrices of the skin and the core.

Abstract: The high cost of the fuel injection system in a gas turbine engine can be reduced by utilizing a low cost jet or nozzle (70) to spray fuel into the inlet (24) of a compressor (18). The resulting air-fuel mixture flows as a semi-discrete sector to a combustor (58) to be swirled therein and combusted to drive a turbine wheel (50).

Abstract: The problem of excess size and weight resulting from the use of current sensors in a VSCF start system (10) is solved by a motor control (22) which utilizes a current estimator (68) to develop a current feedback value. The current estimator (68) is coupled to a rotor position detector (72) and an input power detector (78) and receives a signal representing motor torque angle to develop a signal representing the estimated current drawn by the motor (12).

Abstract: A tensile cord manufacture wherein polyester multifilament cords are heat treated and drawn to provide tensile cords for use in power transmission belts. Preselected characteristics of the original cord, parameters of heat treating and drawing, and characteristics of the formed tensile cords required to provide the improved features of the invention are set forth.

Abstract: A method for variably making tie bar guides usable to guide tie bars within locking system housings having different inner dimensions, which tie bar guides have a body portion including four sides substantially aligned with an opening through the body portion for slidably receiving a tie bar. A mold block defines an opening for the body portion of the guide and receives material in a substantially flowable state. A cylindrical channel is also provided in the mold block along one side of said body portion opening. A semi-cylindrical pin is secured within the channel, which pin is pivoted to open a selected portion of the channel to the mold block opening and thereby extend the mold block opening and contiguous open channel to a selected outer dimension. Further, at least one slot is provided along a second side of the body portion opening.

Abstract: A case consisting of a cover and a case body adapted to mate to form a space for holding a given object has an outside and/or inside layer made wholly or partly of a thermoplastic elastomeric resin. The outside layer is formed of a thermoplastic elastomeric material selected from the group consisting of styrenic, olefinic, esteric, urethanic, polybutadienic, and vinyl chloride type thermoplastic elastomeric materials, and the inside layer is formed of a plastic material selected from the group consisting of polymethyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polystyrene, polybutylene terephthalate, high-impact polystyrene and the like, or vice versa.

Abstract: Time lost in recharging compressed gas storage bottles on board aircraft is minimized with a fast recharge compressor (20) for rapidly providing compressed gas (30) having a housing (24) with a gas inlet (26), a shaft (46) within the housing (24) on which is mounted a turbine (34) and a multi-stage compressor (36). The turbine (34) is designed to run the shaft (46) and thereby the multi-stage compressor (36). Entering gas is divided into two streams and one stream (28) is directed through the turbine (34) while the other stream (30) is directed through the compressor stages (38,40,44). Heat is exchanged between the two streams by heat exchangers (52,54,56,57,60) after the expansion stream (28) has passed through the turbine (34) so as to cool the compression stream (30).

Abstract: A refrigeration apparatus includes a door shelf support system comprising an inner door panel and removable shelf trim pieces. The inner door panel includes vertical dikes having vertically spaced slots. The shelf trim piece includes rearwardly extending hooks receivable in the slots and having raised hemispheric detents which cooperate with the slots to provide a snap fit between the inner door panel and the hooks to provide a tight fit which ensures that the shelves stay in place during shipment and maintain the desired snug fit during the useful life.

Abstract: A noise filter for the zero crossing detector of a digitized sine wave signal uses an adjustable noise integrator. The noise integrator incorporates a counter. The integration characteristic of the counter is adjustable by selecting a count rate or a count limit from a microprocessor memory.

Abstract: A latch assembly for releasably securing a closure element with a striker element in a closed position. The latch assembly consists of a housing with a body, a release lever mounted for movement relative to the housing between (a) a normal position and (b) a release position; first and second latch elements mounted to the housing for movement relative to each other and the housing, with the first latch element being movable relative to the housing between a latched position in which it maintains the closure in its closed position and a release position in which the closure can be moved out of its closed position, and cooperating structure on the release lever and first and second latch elements for moving the second latch element relative to the housing and, in response thereto, causing the first latch element to move from its latched position to its release position as an incident of the release lever moving from its normal position to its release position.

Abstract: A cooking apparatus utilizes a bi-level exhaust venting system for an eye level range for conducting heated air from both a front portion and a rear portion of a subjacent stove unit. A first inlet is provided at a top portion of the cabinet, and a second inlet is provided at a bottom portion of the cabinet for conducting air from the front and rear surface units, respectively. A blower draws the conducted air into the upper cabinet and discharges it through a suitable outlet.

Abstract: A "reversible master/slave" handshaking protocol is disclosed for addressing the problem of interfacing a multiplexing analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, having a first operating rate, to a microprocessor, having a second operating rate. In the specific embodiment of a generator control unit (GCU) for an electrical power generating system, an analog multiplexer (124), an A/D converter (126), and a dual-port RAM (130) are controlled by an A/D controller (134) to provide data words to a voltage regulator processor (92). If a fast A/D converter is used, then the A/D controlling system will multiplex and convert samples from all of the analog input signals, load the RAM, and wait for the processor to read the RAM. If the A/D conversion rate is slow, the A/D controller will continuously sample all the multiplexed channels, while the processor waits for the appropriate channel information to be loaded into the RAM.

Abstract: Difficulties in interrupting a mechanical power transmission path may be minimized in a manual connect-disconnect operator which includes a coupling shaft (38) and a translatable carrier (28) journalling the coupling shaft (38) for rotation about an axis and mounting the coupling shaft (38) for axial movement along the axis between connect and disconnect positions. A yoke (52) is mounted on a pivot (54) and is connected to the carrier (28) for translating the carrier (28) to move the coupling shaft (38) upon pivotal movement of the yoke (52). A manual actuator (78) is mounted for reciprocating movement and a detent mechanism (92), (94), (100), (102), (104), (106), (108) is operable to maintain the carrier (28) in either of the positions.