Abstract: A drum-equipped apparatus for the wet treatment of batches of material has a horizontally oriented rotatably supported drum including a drum shell bounded by end walls and including a central inlet opening and a central outlet opening provided in the one and the other end wall, respectively. The apparatus further has a drive for selectively rotating the drum in a treating direction and in an opposite, conveying direction. A lifting wall is secured to the drum in the inside thereof for displacing the material batch radially with respect to the rotary axis of the drum during the rotation thereof in the treating direction. Further, a slide is secured to the drum in the inside thereof for displacing the material batch in the axial direction of the drum towards the outlet opening during the rotation thereof in the conveying direction. The drum is supported in an external vessel which receives treating liquid into which the drum is partially submerged.

Abstract: An agricultural machine of the type employing an automatic steering system is provided with separate switching devices for switching the steering system on and off. The mechanism for switching the system off is carried by the steering column of the machine and includes elements for monitoring the speed of manual rotation of the steering wheel to switch the automatic steering system off when the driver of the machine turns the steering wheel more rapidly than a predetermined speed of rotation. The mechanism for turning the automatic steering system on includes a pedal-operated switch which is covered by a displaceable housing, so that the automatic steering system can be turned on only by conscious effort of the driver. The on and off switching signals provided by these two mechanisms are coupled to an electronic switch forming a portion of the automatic steering system, and the switch-off signal normally predominates so that the preferred state of the system is its off condition.

Abstract: An optical apparatus, particularly suited for use in a ballistic measurement device, including a laser generating a laser beam, an optical means for expanding the laser beam in a plane, and an optical element, positioned between the laser and the optical means, for dividing the laser beam into a plurality of beams of substantially identical intensity so that a substantially uniform brightness results over the entire angle of divergence of the laser beam.

Abstract: An improvement in a pot mortar for electrically firing different types of ammunition charges said mortar having a mortar tube, the improvement residing in the mortar tube contains therewithin at least three electrical contacts for electrically contacting ammunition placed therein, one of which contacts is positioned to electrically fire a plurality of different types of ammunition, the other two of which are each positioned to electrically fire only one type of ammunition, each of said two electrical contacts positioned to fire a different type of ammunition.

Abstract: A top illumination photoelectric measuring installation to determine the relative positions of two objects is disclosed which includes an optical reflection grid scale and a transmission grid sensor plate laterally with respect to each other and photoelectric elements to receive light reflected from the scale. In this installation, the photoelectric elements are arranged to accomplish a vignetting of the photo-sensitive surface of the photoelectric elements whenever the operating distance between the scale and the sensor plate is such that further movement of the scale and the sensor plate toward one another would produce a photo current greater than that which can be tolerated by the amplifier connected to the photo elements and provided that the admissable range of tolerance is not exceeded. Such an arrangement permits a greater range of operating distances between the sensor plate and the scale than could be achieved under a normal operating arrangement.

Abstract: A fibrous nonwoven fabric of good drapability, comprising geometrically arranged spaced first surface areas of about 0.02 to 0.2 mm.sup.2 in area in which its fibers are chemically or thermally bonded at their intersections, and second area whose junctions are at least partially reopened and in which the bond points are disposed closely adjacent one another is produced by bonding a non-woven fleece chemically or thermally, and then stretching the resulting fabric at spaced areas so as to expand it partially and form areas where the fibers are less or not bonded. Where a chemical binder is used it may be set only partially prior to stretching, setting being completed thereafter.

Abstract: A loading and unloading station for the chemical and/or electro-chemical treatment of mass-produced parts contained in a rotatable drum, the rotatable drum having a cover which is displaceable in a direction parallel to its axis in a controlled, pre-determined, angular position by means of a pressure cylinder, to open or close a filling aperture.

Abstract: A structural unit for an electric vehicle which includes a box-like slide-in unit containing the electrical, electronic, and electro-mechanical structural elements for the control and regulation of the operating currents and voltages. The slide-in unit which is adapted to be securely connected with the vehicle, consists of a box-shaped slide-in tray provided with guide arrangement and of a support frame also provided with guide arrangement and adapted to be securely fastened at the vehicle. For purposes of establishing the electrical contacts, complementary plug-in contacts are arranged at corresponding places of the support frame and of the box-like slide-in unit whereby the top cover plate is removable at the slide-in unit and the front plate thereof is adapted to be tilted down while the slide-in unit itself is held in the support frame by means of clamping bolts.

Abstract: A weather-resistant covering is made of three superimposed sheets of vulcanizable material such as ethylene-propylene copolymers, e.g. ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer. The inner layer contains a vulcanization accelerator and advantageously the outer layers do not. An additional inner layer such as a non-woven textile fabric can be provided to increase strength and dimensional stability. A roof can be covered by placing a plurality of strips of such covering side-by-side with slight overlap, welding them together into impervious seams by application of a volatile solvent or swelling agent for the outer layers.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to an automatically controlled scraper for moving particulate material onto a radial or star feeder for distribution thereby. The scraper includes a scraper bucket suspended from a radially extending arm. The bucket is connected to both a digging cable line and a lifting cable line, each of which is in turn connected to a suitable winch. The winches are controlled by clutches and brakes, each of which are optionally activated by interconnected automatic and manual control elements, whereby operation may be selectively changed from automatic to manual at the discretion of the operator.

Abstract: A friction clutch assembly, for a press and especially a screw press, includes: a pair of rotating, coaxial, annular, spaced drive members, at least one of which is axially movable toward and away from the other; an off-drive shaft disposed coaxially with the drive members; a spring plate centrally clamped to the off-drive shaft and extending radially on both sides of the shaft to terminate in outer segments, carrying friction coatings, disposed in the space between the drive members, so that, upon movement of one of the drive members toward the other to actuate, or close, the clutch, the friction coatings are clamped between the drive members, elastically deforming the spring plate to adjust to the reduced spacing and to transmit the requisite high torque through the spring plate required to turn the off-drive shaft.

Abstract: A settling unit for coke quenching water, which is circulated in a closed cycle, comprises a settling basin having substantially vertical side walls with a drain surface sloping downwardly alongside one of the sidewalls and a conduit for the quenching water disposed between the drain and the sidewall in a position to supply quenching water to the settling basin along the entire width of the sidewall and also to receive drained water from the drain surface. A trackway is defined above the basin and the drain surface and it includes a dredging carriage which is movable therealong having a dredging bucket which may be manipulated to pick up the solids from the basin or from the drain surface and to deposit them on the drain surface as necessary.

Abstract: A device for photoelectrically starting and stopping the operation of a bunsen burner in response to the shadow of an operator's hand holding an object to be heated includes a solenoid valve in a line supplying gas to the burner and electronic control circuitry having secondary and primary photoelectric cells arranged in a differential response circuit. Changes in the intensity of the ambient light are cancelled by the differential response circuit, while a hand shadow, which affects only the primary cell, triggers the solenoid valve, via a gate circuit and solenoid switch.

Abstract: A motor vehicle steering column switch has a direction indicator blinker light switch which includes two engagement positions and two change of lane tipping positions. The switch also is automatically readjustable such as by a head lamp low beam flasher switch. The switch includes an integral switching lever having a tubular switching arm through which electrical leads are guided. The switching lever includes a catch extension and an operating extension molded from a thermoplastic material. A removable slide is provided to facilitate assembly of the electrical leads within the switching lever.

Abstract: A breathable lining and shaping material especially suited for garments, comprising a nonwoven layer of randomly arranged fibers superposed on a nonwoven layer of oriented fibers, means holding together the fibers of each layer and holding the layers together, and an outer binder imprinted on the outer face of the oriented fiber layer, the weight of the outer binder being at most 50% of the material weight, the length to width strength ratio of the randomly arranged fiber layer ranging from about 4:1 to 1:4. Advantageously a heat activatable adhesive is provided at spaced locations on the outer face of the randomly arranged layer, whereby the material can be joined to the underside of a garment by hot pressing. The outer binder on the outside of the oriented fiber layer preferably is printed in a regular pattern to ensure that all fibers are tied down by bonds at multiple points.

Abstract: A lightweight exercise and tumbling mat comprises a core composed of a closed-cell foamed synthetic material with soft elastic properties. A textile sheet and/or film is disposed on the top surface of the core and a nonskid sheeting of rubber or synthetic material is disposed on the underside of the core.

Abstract: A loading device for a goods vehicle comprises a lifting platform which can be raised to the height of the loading surface and then pivoted into a vertical position to form a tail gate. The rear end of the lifting platform can also be tilted downwardly when the lifting platform is at road level or a loading surface height. The lifting platform is supported and operated by two hydraulic rams in conjunction with two lifting arms and two guiding arms. The rams are hingedly connected with the lifting platform differently so that both serve to raise the platform and one serves to pivot the platform to vertical position after the platform has reached loading surface height.

Abstract: Lifting and depositing equipment for cabins, shelters or the like that are movable on the loading surfaces of trucks or similar vehicles, comprising a plurality of jacks detachably fastened by trusses to the side walls of the cabin. A detachable, laterally displaceable roller system and a guidance system are mounted on the trusses for at least two of the jacks that are mutually oppositely disposed in the transverse direction, whereby upon a truck moving beneath the cabin, the roller systems glide off the upper rims of the upright side walls of the truck and support the cabin so as to maintain a space between it, the truck loading surface and the side walls. The guide systems cooperate jointly with the side walls to ensure simultaneously a lateral aligning of the cabin with respect to the loading surface and side walls to effect a central positioning of the cabin on the loading surface of the truck.

Abstract: Unsaturated homopolymerizable or copolymerizable polyester resins having incorporated therein at least one 5 or 6-membered cyclic imide group, and methods for their preparation are described.

Abstract: The present power driver handles fasteners of varying length mounted on a strip or belt, through a touch-down foot which accommodates fasteners of different length to eliminate wasted motion of the driver. The fasteners are also prevented by said touch-down foot from tipping or going into a workpiece at an angle. The depth to which the fasteners are driven into the workpiece is controllable and any irregularities in the mounting of the fasteners on the strip or belt are compensated.