Abstract: A vertical panel system comprises a vertical panel having a panel with opposing first and second panel surfaces and a base edge. The system further comprises a base having a slot for engaging the base edge of the panel. An aperture is disposed in the panel in proximity to the base edge, which is of sufficient size to receive a foot of a user, for assisting in the engagement of the panel and the base. The base for the vertical panel system comprises a center zone fabricated of vulcanized rubber, and an outer zone fabricated of recycled rubber. The slot is disposed in the center zone. Thus, the combination solves a need to be environmentally responsible and cost effective by recycling rubber which would otherwise fill our landfills, yet provides increased durability by using virgin vulcanized rubber in the zone of the base which includes the engagement slot.

Abstract: A lawn aerator sulky adapted for attachment to a selflawn vehicle, such as a walk-behind mower or fertilizer spreader. The sulky includes a frame supported with wheels, a first platform on which an operator can stand and ride while not aerating, and a second platform carrying one or more aerator tine assemblies on its underside. The second platform and tine assemblies are moveable by the operator selectively transferring his/her weight to position the tine assemblies in a ground-engaged or ground-disengaged position. The sulky includes a device to support the second platform and its tine assemblies in the disengaged position when the operator steps off the platform, and a latching device to hold the second platform and its tine assemblies in the engaged position when the operator steps off the second platform.

Abstract: A safety ramp includes a bridge having two sloped side faces, a top plain face formed between the two sloped side faces and dovetailed protrusions formed on each of the sloped side faces. Two sloped pieces each has a hypotenuse, a plain face immediately adjacent to the hypotenuse to correspond to the top plain face of the bridge and an inclined face immediately adjacent to the plain face relative to the hypotenuse to correspond to one of the sloped side faces of the bridge. The inclined face is provided with a first step and a second step and has dovetailed slots defined in a side face between the two steps to correspond to the dovetailed protrusions so that the dovetailed protrusions of the bridge are able to be received in the corresponding dovetailed slots of the two sloped pieces to combine the two sloped pieces.

Abstract: A dock leveler that includes a pivotal ramp with a moveable lip for loading and unloading a truck at a loading dock also includes a lip seal that helps seal an air gap along the side edges of the lip. When the back end of the truck is up against a dock bumper, the lip helps block off an air gap that spans an area generally defined by the rear edge of the truck, an inside edge of the bumper, and the side edge of the lip that generally faces the bumper. When the lip moves from its extended, operative position to its stored position, the lip forces the lip seal to move underneath the deck. The lip seal is biased to an operative, sealing position by a spring or a counterweight, so as the lip extends to its operative position, so does the lip seal.

Abstract: An apparatus for paving a narrow gauge trench in a concrete roadway is adapted to be attached to a vehicle having a supply of pressurized hydraulic fluid and includes a frame having opposing ends and operable to be attached to the vehicle. The frame includes a hopper attached at a first end thereof, an auger disposed therein, and a concrete dispensing aperture extending through a lower wall thereof at a second end of the frame opposite the hopper. A strike-off member is hingedly attached to the frame and a roller is hingedly attached to the frame and extends rearwardly of the strike-off member. A hydraulic system is connected to the pressurized hydraulic fluid supply of the vehicle and is operable to control the auger, the roller, and the vertical orientation of the strike-off member and the roller.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for extracting liquid from a body of liquid. The apparatus includes a conduit terminator operable to terminate a conduit, the conduit terminator having an inlet opening to facilitate conduction of liquid from the body of liquid. The apparatus includes a solid object diverter connected to the conduit terminator, the diverter defining a liquid admitting cavity about the inlet opening to impede solid objects from entering the inlet opening while permitting entry of liquid into the cavity for admission into the inlet opening. The apparatus also has a positioner operable to position the diverter in a position in the liquid body such that the cavity admits liquid from the body of liquid while the inlet opening admits liquid from the cavity.

Abstract: A roller wall guard system for use on a surface-finishing machine having a circular guard ring of a given circumference made up of a pair of wall guards. Each wall guard has an arc shaped arm having a first end attached to a roller and extending along a length to a second end also having a roller. Each arm is pivotally connected to the surface-finishing machine at an intermediate location between the first and second ends, so that the arm pivots within a controlled arc. The length of the arms and the diameters of the rollers are configured to define a line between a point of rolling engagement of the first roller against a second surface and a point of rolling engagement of the second roller against the second surface. The line lies outside of the circumference of the guard ring.

Abstract: A method for increasing the bearing capacity of foundation soils for built structures consisting of providing a plurality of holes spaced from each other deep in the soil, and injecting into the soil, through the holes, a substance which expands as a consequence of a chemical reaction, with a potential increase in volume of at least five times the volume of the substance before expansion. The expansion of the substance injected into the soil produces compaction of the contiguous soil.

Abstract: A seed planting system for planting seeds in dirt in the depressions of a flat. The seed planting system includes a plurality of seeding assemblies each having a hopper. The hopper is designed for holding the seeds. Each of the seeding assemblies has dispensing portion. The dispensing portion is coupled to the hopper of an associated one of the seeding assemblies whereby the dispensing portion is designed for dispensing seeds from the hopper of the associated one of the seeding assemblies into the depressions of the flat. A regulating assembly is coupled between the hopper and the dispensing portion of each of the seeding assemblies whereby the regulating assembly is designed for regulating the rate at which the seeds are dispensed from the hopper to the dispensing portion of the associated one of the seeding assemblies.

Abstract: A retaining wall, supported by a footer, foundation or conventional retaining wall, includes a plurality of post-tensioning rods anchored in the underlying support and extending through the cells of blocks forming the courses of the retaining wall. An elongated apertured plate or a plurality of individual plates rest upon the next to last course to penetrably receive the threaded ends of each of the rods. Nuts engage the threaded ends of the rods to draw the rods to the plate and place them in tension. The top course rests upon the plate or plates and may be constructed as a bond beam. The rods extending from the support may be located adjacent the said side of the retaining wall and bent away therefrom to penetrate the plate or plates at the lateral midpoint of the plate or plates and thereafter extend essentially vertically upwardly. To add an extended wall supported on the bond beam, couplings may be threadedly engaged with the rod ends. Further rods threadedly engage the couplings and extend upwardly.

Abstract: A modular bridge apparatus includes a self-supporting truss section that can be lifted and transported as a structural unit. The modular bridge has left and right longitudinally extending trusses. Each truss section is made of an upper longitudinal chord member and a lower longitudinal chord member which are connected together at a plurality of joints with vertical and diagonally inclined web members. In the preferred embodiment, these longitudinally extending trusses occur on opposite sides of the bridge, defining the sides of the road surface and extend between supports on each end. A plurality of transverse beams extend between the left and right side trusses of the bridge at an elevation that is higher than the lower longitudinal chord members of the trusses. Some of the transverse beams extend beyond the lower longitudinal chord member, and are connected to the upper longitudinal chord members with an inclined diagonal kicker.

Abstract: A mobile rock crusher for crushing raw rock material which has been windrowed on a roadway in the translation path of the crusher includes a rigid supporting structure, which includes a frame, and translation means for allowing translation of the frame over the roadway. A selectively actuable scoop is pivotally mounted to the frame for selectively actuable lowering over the roadway into sliding engagement with, so as to collect, the windrowed raw rock material onto the scoop. A first conveyor is mounted to the frame. An upstream loading end of the first conveyor cooperates with the scoop for conveying the raw rock material from the scoop onto a first screen at a downstream depositing end of the first conveyor. The first screen is for screening larger diameter material from smaller diameter material in the raw rock material so that the smaller diameter material falls through the first screen.

Abstract: A retaining component comprises first and second end walls and a third wall between the first and second end walls. The first and second end walls each have a first edge adjacent to the third wall and a second edge remote from the third wall. The first and second end walls extend to one side of the plane of the third wall. The retaining component has at least one lug projecting from the second edge of each of the first and second end walls. Each lug has a transverse hole whereby the retaining component can be connected to a like or similar component by passing an elongate member through aligned holes in lugs of the two components.

Abstract: A sash balance brake shoe assembly (2) is disclosed for counterbalancing a sash window (3) slidably supported within a master frame (5). The assembly generally includes a balance assembly preferably in the form of a block and tackle balance assembly (7) and a brake shoe (28). The balance assembly has a balance channel (6). The brake shoe (28) has an extension member (36) that is received by the balance channel (6). A fastener (42) directly connects the brake shoe (28) to the balance channel (6).

Abstract: A portable speed bump unit having a plurality of speed bump cells removably and pivotally connected together to form a single PSB unit of variable length. Each speed bump cell comprises a plastic base having a rectangular footprint, a raised top surface, and a cross-sectional profile that is generally trapezoidal or semi-circular in shape. The speed bump cells are interconnected via one or more hinge bars that are pivotally connected together, thereby allowing two adjacent speed bump cells to be folded together such that an entire PSB unit can be rolled up for easy retrieval, portability, and storage purposes and simply unrolled to an extended position for deployment and use. Alternative embodiments of a portable speed bump unit incorporate safety features, e.g.

Abstract: A concrete placing apparatus is provided for placing uncured concrete on a support surface, such as an elevated deck of a building. The apparatus comprises a base unit and a movable support, with a conduit assembly extending therebetween. A supply end of the conduit assembly is positioned at the base unit and is connected to a supply line for uncured concrete or other material, while a dispensing end of the conduit assembly is supported by the movable support and extends outwardly therefrom to dispense uncured concrete or other material through a discharge outlet. The movable support is movable arcuately and/or radially relative to the base unit to dispense the concrete in a generally uniform manner over a targeted area. The apparatus may further include a screeding device at the discharge outlet to grade, level, compact and smooth the concrete as it is placed.

Abstract: A simple and inexpensive hinge system or mechanism that may apply to the front panel or door so as to obtain an easy access to the inside without making the mechanism much more complicated or expensive. The hinge mechanism for a front panel or door is hingedly connected to an enclosure (or cabinet case) and comprises an axis (or shaft) and an axis supporting member having an opening that supports the axis at a first position for door swinging, at a second position for holding the door in a certain state, and at an intermediate position for the axis moving with or without any turning.

Abstract: Roadway crack sealing apparatus (20) which includes a mobile vehicle (26) with a forward crack sealing assembly (22) and a following finishing assembly (24). The assembly (22) includes laterally spaced apart fill and sealant hoppers (30, 36) each equipped with selectively openable outlets (32, 34, 38) and an elongated roadway crack sighting passageway (128) therebetween. The fill hopper preferably has a pair of outlets (32, 34), with the sealant hopper (38) between the latter so that a crack is sealed by sequential application of fill, sealant and additional fill. In use, an operator within the vehicle compartment (162) visually locates a crack (28) through the passageway (128), and steers the vehicle (26) accordingly; the operator also manipulates appropriate controls for selectively opening the outlets (32, 34, 38). The finishing assembly (24) includes a series of lateral brushes which sweep and finish the sealed crack and adjacent roadway.

Abstract: A compactor tooth has a replaceable wear tip mounted to a mounting block carried on the cylindrical exterior surface of a landfill-compactor wheel of a compactor machine. The mounting block has an external surface formed to engage a complementary internal cavity of the wear tip and includes a pair of circumferentially-spaced sides oriented not more than 5 degrees from perpendicular to the cylindrical exterior surface of the wheel. The replaceable tip has a body with an exterior ground-engaging surface, a mounting end and a mounting-base receiving cavity opening through the mounting end. The cavity is configured to receive the mounting block thereinto and has a pair of circumferentially-spaced side surfaces configured to be in close abutting relationship to a respective one of the circumferentially-spaced sides of the mounting block.

Abstract: Roadway crack sealing apparatus (20) which includes a mobile vehicle (26) with a forward crack sealing assembly (22) and a following finishing assembly (24). The assembly (22) includes laterally spaced apart fill and sealant hoppers (30, 36) each equipped with selectively openable outlets (32, 34, 38) and an elongated roadway crack sighting passageway (128) therebetween. The fill hopper preferably has a pair of outlets (32, 34), with the sealant hopper (38) between the latter so that a crack is sealed by sequential application of fill, sealant and additional fill. In use, an operator within the vehicle compartment (162) visually locates a crack (28) through the passageway(128), and steers the vehicle (26) accordingly; the operator also manipulates appropriate controls for selectively opening the outlets (32, 34, 38). The finishing assembly (24) includes a series of lateral brushes which sweep and finish the sealed crack and adjacent roadway.