Abstract: A porous material, e.g. a paper, has pores with a range of sizes. A pore modifying agent comprising particles of a narrow size range is selectively incorporated within the larger pores to provide zones of high surface area. These greatly reduce the penetrability of the material, e.g. by mirco-organisms, while having relatively little effect on its air-permeability. The modifying agent may be incorporated by creating a pressure difference across the material, and treating it with a dispersion, e.g. an aerosol, of the modifying agent, under conditions of low inertia, and incorporating only a small amount of the agent, e.g. not more than 1% w/w.

Abstract: The apparatus comprises two parallel and spaced apart conveyor belts and a toothed take-along belt guided parallel to and interposed between the two conveyor belts. The take-along belt has a thickened or otherwise rigidified section providing an engagement region. The belt runs at constant speed, faster than the conveyors. The engagement region runs slightly beneath the conveying surface of the conveyors until it reaches an engagement location, at which it may halt and then be instantaneously raised and restarted in response to a signal indicating an adjacent batch or leaves to lift the leaves off the conveyor belt and cause them to be moved with greater velocity than the conveyor belts to the delivery end thereof where they are stacked.

Abstract: Stretch wrapping apparatus that uses two rollers 17,18 rotating at different speeds to stretch a web or wrapping material has problems of slippage when applied to wrapping grass. These are ameliorated by forming the roller surfaces with projections 32, e.g. by applying a mesh or (better) forming axial corrugations. The surfaces are preferably of metal, particularly aluminum.

Abstract: This invention relates to handling apparatus and methods and in particular, but not exclusively, to the handling of groups of battery plates.Thus handling apparatus 10 includes a main upright 11 supporting a transport mechanism 12 from which depends a plurality of spaced gripping devices 13. These devices are used to remove groups of battery plates from a jig box 14 to hold the plates in their alignment while moving them to a position 17 where they can be loaded in to the cells 18 of a battery box 19. A guide 21 is provided for providing the plates in to the cells 18. The loading procedure is carried out in two stages, a first set of cells being loaded in the first operation and a second set in the second operation.

Abstract: A drill rig installation has, for handling the elongate tubular well elements, a handling boom provided with grabs to lift the tubulars from the strongbacks and present them at the drilling axis. For this purpose the boom has pivot mountings for movements about a vertical axis and a horizontal axis respectively, and the grabs are displaceable transversely of the boom. A support pad for the tubular elements is transversely displaceable on the boom jointly with the grabs. The installation further comprises a grid-form base providing a fixed platform on which a drilling derrick can be slid to different grid positions to drill a series of bore holes. The base grid also carries the store of tubular elements and trolleys that register the elements with the handling boom, and other ancillary equipment such as slips and torque wrench machines for assembling and dismantling drill strings.

Abstract: A printing apparatus has an array of cartridges for printing a web of e.g. paper passing through the array, and one or more units containing printing medium. The cartridges each are capable of transferring the printing medium from the unit(s) to the web. The unit(s) and the cartridges of the array are relatively movable, to allow the unit(s) to interact successively with at least two of the cartridges. In this way it is possible to change printing from one cartridge to another, allowing changes to be made to what is printed, without halting the movement of web significantly. The present invention also proposes that the cartridges may have printing cylinders of different sizes, and furthermore that a mobile unwind stand may be used to move web material to the printing apparatus, and the web output from the printing apparatus processed by sheet folding techniques.

Abstract: A semi-submersible drill rig structure includes a ring-like enclosure surrounding a central drilling axis. In the structure are magazines holding drill string elements vertically. Lifting means on the structure raise the vertical drill string elements from their magazines and carry them to the drilling axis. A guide ring is displaceable to and from the drilling axis, in synchronism with the lifting means, to restrain the lower end of each raised element against pendulation. The magazines are rotatable about vertical axes to bring the individual elements under the line of movement of the lifting means and guide ring. Well casing elements are similarly restrained by the guide ring as they also are carried in a vertical orientation to the drilling axis. The disposition of the magazines in a structure surrounding the drilling axis provides a relatively calm region through which the drilling operations can be conducted.

Abstract: A rail car tippler installation has an open-sided tippler with a rotatable structure (8) comprising a main longitudinal beam (16) mounted on end pivots (10, 18), said beam supporting a rail car platform (2) that substantially spans the distance between the end pivots. The main beam carries the weight of the rail car and platform during tipping and has pivot supports (30) for clamping beams (34) that are displaceably lockable to hold the rail car on the platform. The tipping axis is laterally offset from the platform in a manner that reduces the sweep radius of the tippler and the rise of the rail car during tipping. The installation includes a hopper (14) that is offset laterally oppositely to the tipping axis and has an entry opening that extends longitudinally as far as the end pivots.

Abstract: A tippling installation for the discharge of bulk goods from large barges comprises a dry basin in which a trough-shaped cradle can have its ends sealed against opposite end walls of the basin in which there are lock gates. The cradle provides a holding vessel into which the barges are floated through the lock gates. After closing the gates and draining the cradle, the barge is tipped by rolling the cradle sideways along guide and support tracks which provide positive location while the barge is held clamped in the cradle. The contents of the barge are discharged into a receiving space from which any liquid is drained to separate it from the discharged solids that are then collected. The arrangement is able to prevent pollution of the waterway by the escape of any of the barge contents during discharge. Because they roll on fixed supports relatively little lifting efforts needs to be expanded and very large barges can be handled.

Abstract: A stacker-reclaimer with a luffing and slewing mounting supporting a boom structure with a main, forwardly extending boom having a material conveyor running along it, and a rearwardly extending tail boom with a counterbalance weight depending from its rear end. The tail boom is at a higher level than the main boom to provide clearance for a feeder conveyor to the a material conveyor. The counterbalance weight is attached by a pivot on the tail boom and is displaceable about the pivot by a control cable attached to a non-luffing part of the luffing and slewing mounting forwards of the luffing axis whereby the weight is displaced forwards in relation to the pivot in upward luffing movements of the boom structure. This compensates for the rearward displacement of the rear end of the tail boom in such movements, and reduces the maximum overturning moment to be resisted in the working luffing range.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing large books includes two apparatuses which may be used independently to produce normal books. Each has a printing press for producing signatures, and a bindery. A diverting device is operable to take the output of the first press and combine it with the output of the second press. Thus different halves of a large book may be printed by the two presses and then combined.

Abstract: Sleeves with different circumferences (and hence print repeat lengths) are removably mountable on a roll core, making use of radial compressibility of the radially inner region of each sleeve. The radially outer regions are incompressible, to ensure good print quality.A sleeve may have inner and outer regions of different foam materials. Alternatively it may employ spaced discs having resilient arcuate tongues engaging an inner sleeve. An outer sleeve may be defined by slats engaging the discs, or peripheral flanges of the discs.

Abstract: A bucket wheel for a bucket wheel unloader has a series of buckets mounted on pivots around its periphery so that the buckets can be displaced between opposite end positions to correspond with either direction of rotation of the wheel. Latching means engage the buckets to retain them in their required end positions and operate automatically when the direction of rotation of the wheel is reversed.

Abstract: An integrally formed injection moulded tubular plastics container body open at one end and closed at the other end. A sleeve (10) of sheet material lies outwardly of the injection moulded plastics (28) of the tubular wall and a layer (20) of sheet material lies inwardly of the injection moulded plastics (30) of the end wall, both sheets (10,20) being secured to the plastics (28,30) during the moulding operation. In producing the container, the sleeve (10) is inserted into the female mould and the other sheet (20) is inserted so as to lie transversely across the mould, partway along the sleeve, and hold the sheet to the mould walls while the male mould member is inserted, carrying the transverse sheet (20) to the end of the mould.