Abstract: A suction manifold unit for mounting on a pump fluid end in association with at least one further suction manifold unit to provide a suction manifold assembly for supplying fluid to suction cylinders of such a pump fluid end. The manifold unit has at least one supply duct leading to its interior, and outlet duct for leading fluid from the supply duct to a suction cylinder during use, and a supply conduit sealingly associated with the supply duct, the supply conduit being adjustable between a retracted position where it will be spaced from another manifold unit mounted relatively to such a pump fluid end, and an extended position for engaging sealingly with a corresponding supply duct of such a further manifold unit to place the manifold units in communication with each other.

Abstract: An automatic tractor guidance system for controlling the steering of a tractor to follow a previously plowed furrow is disclosed. A furrow follower is provided with a sensor for sensing the direction of the path relative to the direction of travel of the tractor. The steering direction of the tractor is likewise sensed. The two sensor signals are combined and compared to a convergence frequency signal to produce a digital control signal. Each logic state of the control signal effects a turn in the steering of the tractor, right then left. If the duty cycle of the control signal is 50%, no net turn either right or left is effected. However, when the duty cycle deviates from 50%, a net rotation in one direction or the other will occur depending on which logic state of the digital signal occurs for a longer portion of each cycle of the control signal.

Abstract: Spheres are sequentially released into a pipeline from a sphere storage barrel in response to the opening and closing of a valve closure member by means of a sphere launching apparatus. The apparatus has a releasing means, pivotable about a first axis, for engaging the valve closure member and a catcher, pivotable about a second axis, for releasably engaging the spheres as well as an actuating link connecting the releasing means with the catcher.In response to the opening and closing of the valve closure member, the catcher is angularly pivoted into and out of engagement with successive spheres at a first rate, upon angular pivoting of the releasing means at a second rate less than the first rate, to sequentially release spheres and to allow the valve closure member to substantially close before releasing the next sphere.

Abstract: A plug and ball injector valve is provided which utilizes seals mounted in standard grooves and an arrangement of pressure balancing cavity areas brought into communication with the seals to balance the fluid pressure across the seals before such seals are exposed to unpressurized ports or passageways. A drain port is arranged in the vicinity of the loading port of the valve to limit spillage and leakage of the line fluid passing through the valve.

Abstract: A seismic cable connector is provided for use with a dual fiber cable in a fiber optic seismic exploration system. The connector contains a digital transceiver which includes an optical detector connected to one fiber of the cable and a fiber optic transmitter connected to the other fiber. The digital transceiver is housed in an environmentally sealed case to protect the transceiver and the ends of the optical fibers from being affected or damaged during use in the field. The transceiver is activated by transistor-transistor logic contained within the connector. The optical fibers are protected by buffer tubes extending the length of the cable. A sixty-one pin electrical plug is provided in the cable connector for mating the connector with remote seismic data gathering units.

Abstract: An improved instantaneous floating point amplifier is provided having a plurality of cascaded amplifier stages, wherein the gain of a given stage of the amplifier is the square of the gain of the immediately succeeding stage of the amplifier. The number of amplifier stages which are required to implement the amplifier is minimized, and the control logic which is required to decide if a given stage is needed to amplify the input signal to a level within preselected limits is simplified. The amplifier has an automatic nulling feature which permits nulling of the amplifier without loss of data.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for mixing liquid or a drilling mud with solids and a second liquid is disclosed. The apparatus provides an annular housing having a plurality of mixing chambers. An inlet passageway is tangentially connected to the innermost mixing chamber for feeding slurry material to be mixed with solids axially fed into the same mixing chamber. A discharge port is further provided and connected to the outermost mixing chamber for tangentially discharging the homogeneous mixture of slurry and solid materials from the outer mixing chamber at high velocities to an elevation above the inlet. The mixing operation is enhanced by the liquid/solid mixture spilling over a first partition wall and retaining its rotational velocity and direction of rotation while passing under a second partition wall and finally out the discharge port.

Abstract: A totally pneumatic crane warning system is disclosed capable of use in oil well environments. The crane warning system utilizes a pneumatic function generator. The pneumatic function generator includes a means for receiving a linear pneumatic signal that may be representative of a boom angle and translating that signal to a non-linear output representative of the maximum load capacity of the crane at that angle. This function is accomplished through the use of a rolling cam machined to represent the functional relationship between the boom angle and the maximum load capacity at that angle. This relationship has been found to be non-linear in nature. A pneumatic control circuit is utilized in conjunction with the rolling cam to effect the pneumatic output signal that is representative of the maximum load capacity at a given boom angle.

Abstract: An electronic valve controller for controlling a meter valve system is disclosed. The electronic controller includes circuitry for enabling a multilevel shutdown of a meter valve system. The meter valve system includes a preset batch counter, positive displacement meter and diaphragm operated globe valve. The electrical circuitry is operatively associated with the meter valve system in enhancing and inhibiting the flow through the globe valve based upon a comparison of a preset desired flow rate and the actual system flow rate.

Abstract: A centrifugal degasser is provided using the principal of centrifugal force to separate gas from a gas-cut flowable material such as drilling mud. The device passes a gas-cut material through a centrifugal force field to accomplish the degassing. The invention contemplates the slurry flowing through the degasser by entering it through the top and flowing downward or entering from the bottom and flowing upward. In either case the slurry moves through the force field to accelerate gravity settling of the continuous phase of the flowable material and to accelerate buoyant force gas bubble rising time.

Abstract: A new geophone spring is disclosed wherein the outer and inner rings of the spring are connected by leg members having a substantially straight segment which will pivot about an outer portion of the leg in a manner which will reduce the lateral bending forces acting upon the spring legs and increase the linearity of the spring.

Abstract: An improved oil well pump timer including means for detecting periods of power outage and providing a pumping period following the outage of sufficient length to maintain an essentially constant duty cycle. Clock controlled timers determine preselected on and off cycle periods. Power failure detecting circuitry inhibits on timer operation and counts the number of off time cycles occurring during the outage. Upon reestablishment of power, control circuitry inhibits the off timer and provides a number of on time cycles equal to the number of off cycles during the outage.

Abstract: An apparatus for sorting articles based upon the presence of defects on the surface thereof is characterized by a roller conveyor carrying a random array of articles in transverse channels defined between adjacent rollers. As the conveyor is advanced through a viewed area the articles are simultaneously rotated such that electrical images are formed of the portions of the surface of each article within a viewing zone defined in each channel during a given time frame. The viewing zones advance a predetermined distance through the viewed are in synchronization with the scanning of the electrical images. A characteristic signal for the portion of the electrical image corresponding to each article is developed and output to a processor. The processor generates a classification signal representative of the acceptability of each article based upon the percentage of total surface of area or number of defects on the surface each article.

Abstract: A method of seismic exploration and a system which provides the capability for increasing the number of depth points from which seismic data are acquired are disclosed. This increase in data is realized without increasing the number of recording channels or the number of geophone stations employed in the system. A higher common depth point multiplicity is achieved by separating energy sources in relation to geophone stations. The recording system is capable of automatically sorting out the data from different energy sources and storing it in different blocks of a memory. Since substantially all available recording time is fully utilized by using energy sources to their optimum efficiency, higher common-depth-point multiplicity can be achieved with minimum field costs.

Abstract: Disclosed is a device for detecting the weight of an article by measuring the amount of pressure required to support the article. The weighing device is characterized by a weighing table having a plurality of apertures for receiving compressed air. The pressure required to support the gross weight of an article passing over the apertures is sensed by a pressure transducer and translated into an electrical signal used to derive the actual numerical weight of the article.

Abstract: An improved kelly valve of a type wherein a flexible inner valve body closes the valve passageway responsive to the pressure of a gaseous control fluid contained within a sealed chamber and opens the passageway responsive to exterior pressure of drilling fluid or of tools being passed through the valve. The improvements enhance the operating life of the flexible member and simplify the valve structure and assembly and disassembly procedures.

Abstract: An optics arrangement utilizing a trifurcating beam splitter is characterized by a first half-silvered element disposed at a 45.degree. angle with respect to the axis of an incident light beam. Second and third half-silvered elements are each disposed perpendicular to opposed surfaces of the first element and cooperate such that the light energy incident thereon is trifurcated into three ray paths each mutually perpendicular to the other, one of the ray paths having an axis coincident with the axis of the incident light beam. The invention is particularly useful in connection with a color video transmitting arrangement for a color sorting apparatus whereby incident light energy focused by a lens is trifurcated into mutually orthogonal ray paths having a visual image plane therewithin, the focal length between each visual image plane and the lens being substantially equal.

Abstract: A gear meter is characterized by a dual magnetic drive used for driving meter accessories. The measuring gears within the gear meter are provided with driver magnets which urge the rotation of driven magnets mounted on rotatable shafts arranged within the fixed shafts about which the measuring gears rotate. The rotating shafts are coupled with gears which either correspond in shape and size to, and which are radially aligned with, the respective measuring gears, or are circular. The coupling gears combine the torque generated through the two rotating shafts to drive a meter accessory shaft.

Abstract: A dampener for a clapper valve wherein a rotor member having radially outwardly extending vanes which subdivide each of two fluid cavities defined in a housing into first and second fluid volumes is characterized by radially extending, first and second passages axially spaced within the rotor which respectively communicate each of the first volumes and the corresponding second volume. The increase in pressure within either of the volumes generated by the motion of the vanes (which move with the clapper) is accommodated by the fluid in one passage venting to the other passage through an axially movable valve. The valve piston presents equal surface areas to each passage, to thereby fluid balance the damper in both the opening and closing directions of the clapper. A bypass channel is provided through which one of the fluid volumes in the first cavity with one of the volumes in the second cavity.

Abstract: A network for separating an article-detect signal into a number of parts corresponding to the number of articles randomly disposed in next-abutting relationship is characterized by a circuit arrangement adapted to sample and hold a predetermined percentage of the peak magnitude of a characteristic signal representative of each article, a comparator for comparing the instantaneous value of the characteristic signal with the predetermined peak and for generating an enabling signal when the instantaneous characteristic signal falls below the predetermined percentage, and a timer responsive to the enabling signal to interrupt the article-detect signal for a predetermined time interval after a predetermined time delay.