Abstract: A system to protect piping and containers from damage by freezing of contained aqueous liquid includes a temperature-actuated SPDT switch connected at its movable contact to a rechargable battery. The fixed contacts of the switch are connected to two input terminals of a DC motor of a motor-actuated valve having its valve opened or closed depending upon the operation of the switch. The movable contact normally engages the fixed contact that provides voltage to close the valve, if open, as the sensed temperature is above about 35.degree. F., but moves to the other fixed contact when the temperature drops to 35.degree. F. to open automatically the valve. A relay having a coil energized by AC power has a normally open contact coupling the motor and the fixed contact used to close the valve so that closing is inhibited, if the AC power is off, until power is on.

Abstract: Apparatus for tracking a seam between two work members comprising a sensor including a housing with an insulating mounting board therein carrying two first ferrite cores and two second ferrite cores on the upper surface thereof, the two first ferrite cores being each curved in planes normal to the board and each having the faces at the ends thereof lying in a common plane with the first ones of the faces thereof in alignment along a longitudinal axis in the board, the two second ferrite cores being each curved in planes normal to the board and each having a first one of the faces at the ends thereof lying in the common plane and spaced laterally of the longitudinal axis equidistantly, two first coils wound around the first cores and connected in series aiding relation to two second coils wound around the second cores, a signal generator connected to the coils and means for comprising the combined permeabilities in the flux paths of each first core and associated second core with the other first core and its a

Abstract: A system for stacking into containers flat articles received in a shingled stream, the flat articles being disposed essentially normal to the bottoms of the containers into which they are stacked; mechanism is provided for rapidly diverting the shingled stream of flat articles from the rear of a just filled container to the front of the next empty container in a line of moving containers to feed flat articles into successive containers without interruption; containers having elongated slots in the ends are provided to facilitate the rapid shifting of the article stream from container to container in a line of containers; there also is provided a mechanism to generate a gap in the shingled stream of flat articles to facilitate transfer of the stream from a filled container to an empty container; there further is provided mechanism for diverting the shingled stream of flat articles before it reaches the containers to sample the flat articles or to reject the flat articles should they be defective; also provided

Abstract: A system for stacking flat articles into containers having essentially imperforate end walls with the flat articles disposed essentially normal to the bottoms; a stacking conveyor having cooperating pinch belts with an input end for receiving flat articles in a shingled stream, one of the pinch belts at the other end terminating before the other pinch belt to provide a delivery end, a conveyor for moving containers past the delivery end, the delivery end being oriented normal to the bottom of a container and terminating a short distance above the upper edge of the container, stack support structure extending into the associated container and terminating a short distance from the bottom thereof, means for generating a gap in the shingled stream that arrives at the delivery end at the completion of the filling of one container and ends when the next empty container is in position, a following roller disposed adjacent to the delivery end and urging the shingled stream thereagainst, a mechanism for lifting the st

Abstract: A liquid level gauge for a tank, especially a pressurized railway tank car, has a housing with a bottom opening mounted at a top opening of the tank. A horizontal shaft is rotatably mounted in the housing between opposed walls having parallel flat vertical inner surfaces. A sprocket is fixedly mounted on the central part of the shaft, on each end of which is fixedly mounted a ring magnet spaced from one of these walls. Complementary ring magnets are rotatably mounted outside but adjacent these opposed walls. The four ring magnets constitute a pair of magnetic drives. A track and cable guide assembly, supported in the tank, extends from the bottom portion of the tank. A perforated tape is trained over the sprocket on the shaft and another sprocket rotatably mounted in the bottom portion of the tank so that the tape is under tension. A probe assembly connected to the tape moves vertically when the sprocket in the housing is rotated.

Abstract: A residual tire life prediction system uses a clock to trigger a bang generator that provides pulses of electrical energy to a pulse-echo transducer. The transducer converts pulses of electrical energy to pulses of ultrasonic vibration. The transducer is located on the tread of a steel belted tire to transmit pulses of ultrasonic energy into the tire and to receive reflected ultrasonic energy from plies of the tire casing. The transducer converts the reflected ultrasonic energy to provide bursts of electrical signals. The transducer is connected to a time varying gain control circuit that has its output connected via a full-wave rectifier to a first gate and to an input of a voltage level detector.

Abstract: A system, preferably a pulse echo reflection system, for residual tire life prediction by ultrasound includes: a transmitter transducer; means to provide pulses of electrical energy to the transmitter transducer, that converts the electrical pulses into pulses of ultrasonic vibrations and transmits them into an area of the plycontaining portion of the carcass of a tire, having a number of plies in the carcass, to be tested; clock means to control the frequency of the electrical pulses; a receiver transducer mounted relative to the transmitter transducer to receive ultrasonic energy reflected by the tire; amplifier means connected to the receiver transducer to receive reflected ultrasonic energy from different levels within that portion of the carcass of the tire, including reflected ultrasonic energy from plies of the carcass of the tire; processing means having an input connected to the amplifier; and gate means responsive to the clock means to provide, after a delay following each electrical pulse, a time-g

Abstract: A stamp vending machine has a number of stamp dispensing mechanisms. Each mechanism is capable of dispensing one or more stamps of the same denomination. The machine can dispense from one mechanism different numbers of stamps and from a number of different mechanisms stamps of different denominations in various combinations totalling the same price or different prices. This capability is provided in a programmable manner that is easily changed to other combinations of numbers of the same stamps or to the operation of different combinations of stamp dispensing mechanisms. The construction of the machine preferably includes the capability of providing a backup of one of its stamp dispensing mechanisms by another mechanism or by more than one mechanism in sequence.

Abstract: A stamp dispensing mechanism has a cylindrical feed wheel, with axially-parallel rows of projections, rotatably mounted on a front portion of a vertical support plate that is constructed to rotatably support a roll of stamps on its rear portion. A Geneva star wheel, rotatably mounted on the plate, is operatively connected to the feed wheel for its step movement with the star wheel. A Geneva driver assembly, rotatably mounted on the plate, has a driver pin on an arm rotated by a motor also mounted on the plate. During one rotation of the arm, the pin moves into and out of a slot of the star wheel for its step movement. An arcuate part of the arm is in a recess in the periphery of a tooth of the star wheel, when the pin is not in the slot, to lock that wheel.

Abstract: A system for flaw detection during a continuous welding process uses a transducer to provide a signal burst for each acoustic burst from an article being welded. The signal burst is amplified and filtered to pass frequencies between about 100 and about 550 KHz. The ring-down counter counts signals of the filtered signal burst. The first signal of the filtered signal burst initiates a timing circuit that times out to provide a reset pulse to reset the ring-down counter. If the decimal count exceeds 100 but does not exceed 1000, the ring-down counter operates circuitry to provide a latched signal to an output of a flip-flop to enable a gate before the counter is reset by the reset pulse of the timing circuit. That reset pulse is also provided to the gate to provide at its output a pulse representing one filtered signal burst having more than 100 and no more than 1000 signals during the timing operation.