Abstract: A water tank fitted with a fall arrest assembly, a rescue device, and a rescue kit. The fall arrest assembly provides a safe means for personnel to perform inspection and maintenance activities on top of a water tank. The rescue device and rescue kit provide a safe and expeditious means to perform rescue activities in case of an emergency either inside or on top of a water tank. The water tank thus takes into consideration the safety of both the patient and the rescuers with the use of the fall arrest assembly and rescue device and rescue kit.

Abstract: A cable drum transportation and handling apparatus for mounting, transporting and handling large cable drums includes a supporting structure, which supporting structure may be mounted on a truck or trailer. The apparatus includes stabilizers mounted to the supporting structure, a hydraulics control system and an operator station, a gravity drive having a drive wheel tire for turning the drum to spool cable in or out, and a hydraulic drive system for the gravity drive. An adjustable mechanism ensures firm connection between the tire and a cable drum, when a drum is mounted on the apparatus. A lever arm or bolt pattern puts more or less tension on the gravity drive, for engagement, by moving the drive up and down. Opposing hydraulically-operated lift arms pivotally mounted on an upper part of the supporting structure may be pivoted outwardly and rearwardly. The lift arms laterally close to grasp the drum.

Abstract: An apparatus includes: a storage unit configured to provide a device design; a control unit configured to analyze the device design for a multi-cycle exception, generate a multi-cycle exception profile, and generate a checker based on the multi-cycle exception profile for a test bench for a simulation version of the device design.

Abstract: A tank for transporting fluids on a truck chassis includes a front wall, side walls, a back wall, a top, and a floor. Interior stairs extend from the floor to an opening in the top to allow stair access into the interior with integrated safety handrails on the fill port cover. Stair toe kicks act as internal transverse baffles to help control fluid motion and surging. The stairs also act as a structural stiffener between longitudinal baffles. Horizontal baffles assist in controlling fluid motion and surging. Formed baffles provide strength and stiffness. A baffle interlocking system improves joint integrity and aids manufacturing. Formed outer skins provide structural strength for the tank. Ports located in front and rear bulkheads may be used for tank ventilation or, depending on local safety codes, as secondary access points.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for maintaining normalcy of a sensor with respect to a structure. The apparatus includes a driving member, a driven member, and a sensor. The driving member includes a first engaging element and a second engaging element. The driven member includes a third engaging element and a fourth engaging element. The third engaging element of the driven member is engaged with the first engaging element of the driving member. The fourth engaging element of the driven member is engaged with the second engaging element of the driving member. The sensor is coupled to the driven member, which is rotatably drivable by the driving member. Engagement between the first and third engaging elements facilitates three-dimensional adjustment of the driven member relative to the driving member. Engagement between the second and fourth engaging elements facilitates co-rotation of the driving member and the driven member.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for scanning metallic surfaces. The apparatus, in one embodiment, comprises a shaft and a rotating member. The rotating member may comprise a sensing end and a featuring engaging element. The shaft further comprises a first coupling element and the rotating member further comprises a second coupling element. The first coupling element may be coupleable with the second coupling element such that the rotating member is pivotable at any three-dimensional angle with respect to the shaft to orient the sensing surface parallel to the scanned surface.

Abstract: A truck body includes a front wall, side walls, and a floor. The floor has panels disposed at predetermined angles from the horizontal that, with the other parts of the body, form a payload volume within the body. The floor also includes a tail panel disposed at a lesser angle from the horizontal to facilitate the shedding of the payload when dumping, and further to maintain the center of mass of the payload in a generally forward position during dumping.

Abstract: A safety circuit permits the operation of a device when the device is located in a safe operating environment. There is a power supply that supplies power to the sensor and to the logic circuits. The sensor could be one of any number of sensors depending on the environment variable which it is desired to detect or monitor and the size of the space for the detector to fit in. The logic circuits use the signal from the sensor to determine when a safe condition exists. When the logic circuits determine that a safe environment is present, the logic circuits send a signal to the power control circuit, which will permit the operation of the device, which if operated in an unsafe environment could endanger personnel and/or property. The results of operating a device in an unsafe environment could include, but are not limited to, fire; explosion; injury or death of personnel, or any other undesirable event.

Abstract: A rock box liner for a floor of a dump truck body includes a plurality of bins coupled to the floor. Each bin has an opening for receiving an amount of payload material from a payload that is deposited within or dumped from the body. When payload material from the payload is deposited within the bins, a portion of the payload material extends upward and outward from the openings of the bins to thereby create a supplemental surface upon which a substantial portion of the payload moves across when dumped. The supplemental surface shields the floor of the body from frictional wear due to loading and dumping of payloads and thus extends the body's operational life.

Abstract: An eddy current test probe having a flexible sensor assembly for non-destructive testing of conductive parts. The flexible eddy current sensor assembly includes a coil assembly having a drive coil and a receive coil positioned in close proximity to each other to maximize inductive coupling. The drive coil receives an alternating voltage from an alternating voltage source. The receive coil is coupled to a visual display which displays the eddy current signal strength in appropriate units. The coil assembly is formed on a flexible membrane. The flexible membrane allows the coil assembly to contour to the PUT surface. By doing so, surface coupling is not only maintained but maximized between the PUT and the coil assembly which, in turn, improves the induced electromagnetic field. A wear resistant film is formed around the outside of the compliance membrane enclosing the coil assembly.

Abstract: A truck includes a chassis with a body movably mounted to the chassis behind a cab. The body is movable between a first position generally parallel to the chassis and a second generally upright position with respect to the chassis. A canopy is movably mounted to the body. The canopy is movable between an extended position and a retracted position. In the extended position, the canopy extends outwardly from the body to cover the cab when said body is in the first position. The canopy is retractable to decrease the overall height of the truck when the body is in the generally upright second position.

Abstract: A robotic transport and assembly system includes a worktable upon which are supported a printed circuit board conveyor, a controllably displaceable circuit component feed mechanism and a robotic manipulator, mounted on the worktable and having a multi(four)-axis end effector, for controllably seizing an electronic circuit component from the component feed mechanism and placing the seized component on the printed circuit board for surface mounted attachment. The controllably displaceable circuit component feed mechanism, which includes a component feed device and an associated feeder device positioning table, is mounted on the worktable at a position adjacent to the position whereat a printed circuit board is supported for the pick and placement operation of the robotic manipulator. The component feed device controllably supplies a plurality of the components to be seized by the end effector and placed on said workpiece by the robotic manipulator.

Abstract: A feed apparatus employs a vision controlled robotic manipulator in which components are dispersed into a single layer with a random orientation. The dispersing mechanism comprises a vibratory feed plate having an input hopper which receives components to be dispersed. The feed plate is controllably vibrated such that components are urged along its top surface. Located in the travel path of the components above the feed plate is a rotating cylindrical brush, which sweeps components as they are being vibrated by the feed plate and causes a single layer of components to emerge from beneath the brush and pass to a viewing/pick-up zone. This zone is backlighted, so that the components may be observed by a camera mounted directly above the backlighted layer. The camera image is analyzed by a video data processor to determine the location and orientation of a component. This information is applied to a manipulator control program for driving a robotic manipulator to pick-up a component for transport to a workpiece.

Abstract: A seal section for connecting a downhole motor and pump used to remove fluids from an oil well comprising a plurality of balance chambers which are vertically stacked and fluidly interconnected in a serial manner such that a fluid path between the well and the motor extends through a series of balance chambers. Each balance chamber is comprised of two concentric, open ended tubes disposed within a tubular casing member and the tubes of each balance chamber are mounted on different ones of seal heads which are spaced vertically along the seal section to delimit the ends of the balance chambers. Each seal head intermediate the seal heads disposed at upper and lower ends of the seal section is provided with one upperwardly extending tube and one downwardly extending tube such that any selected number of balance chambers can be formed by selecting the number of intermediate seal heads to be incorporated into the seal section.