Abstract: A pair of tongs for grasping food which is otherwise difficult to pick up, such as spaghetti, other pasta products, broccoli, beans, and eggs. The tongs have a ladle bowl at the end of one stem and a spoon at the end of the other stem. The ladle bowl and spoon have perforated major surfaces for draining purposes. The ladle bowl has an imperforate lower side wall and an upper side wall in the form of a number of spaced-apart fingers which extend upward from the lower side wall. When the tongs are closed, the spoon enters into the ladle bowl below the level of the fingers, to securely retain the food between the lower portion of the ladle bowl and the spoon.
Abstract: A combination food peeler and slicer having parallel peeler and slicer blades. The peeler blade is rotatably mounted in the handle so that it can rock through a limited angular range. The slicer blade is slidably mounted for movement into and out of the handle. The locking arrangement prevents rotation of the peeler blade when the slicer blade is slid out of the handle, and orients the peeler blade so that two convex surfaces of the peeler blade are parallel to the slicer blade, to serve as a spacer during slicing. The rear end of the slicer blade has a latching arrangement for retaining most of the slicer blade within the handle when the device is used as a peeler.
Abstract: A pair of self adjusting tongs for household use, particularly for grasping food, wherein the jaws are independently rotatable within a limited angular range about corresponding pivot axes, with each jaw being spring-loaded by an arcuate spring extension of the jaw, the end of the spring extension constituting a loop which surrounds and slides along the corresponding stem of the tongs.
Abstract: A furnace (10) has a preheater zone (12) into which exhaust gases from a combustion chamber (14) are recycled for preheating of articles passing through the furnace. The exhaust gases are supplied to the preheater zone (12) through jet pipes (18) which create a turbulent flow about the articles in the furnace (10). The exhaust gases are withdrawn by a fan (30) which is disposed in a duct (34) adjacent to the furnace entrance (13). To prevent the introduction of ambient air into the furnace (10), a pressure chamber (56), which is maintained at about atmospheric pressure, is provided within the preheater zone (12), with the chamber (56) pressurized by gases supplied by exhaust gases passing through a separate pipe (70) which has an adjustable valve (72) to adjust the pressure in the chamber (50). A sealing arrangement defined by the pressure chamber (56) and the articles passing through the furnace prevents the introduction of cool air through the preheater zone (12).
Abstract: A plastic damper for attachment to a vibrating piano wire, the damper consisting of a single piece part having an end slot for turning by a screwdriver, and communicating peripheral slits for receiving the piano wire. One end of each peripheral slit has a slightly greater width than the rest of the slit, so that the piano wire can be inserted through this end of the slit, and locked against the damper by rotating it with a screwdriver, so that the relatively narrow major part of the slit "twist-locks" against the wire; the slight resiliency of the plastic facilitating the "twist-lock" action.