Abstract: A portable hand held soap leaf dispenser includes a housing adapted to support a stack of soap leaves therein. The housing has an opening adjacent one end through which soap leaves are individually dispensed. An ejector member is slidably supported in the housing for fore and aft movement between a forward ejecting position and a rearward retracted position. A biasing mechanism urges the ejector member and adjacent soap leaf into engagement whereby the adjacent soap leaf is dispensed through the opening in response to movement of the ejector member from the retracted position to the ejecting position therefor. The soap leaves may be supported on a platform biased toward the ejector member by the biasing mechanism. A plurality of wedges on the underside of the ejector member retentively engage a soap leaf in response to forward movement of the ejector member and freely slide over the soap leaves in response to rearward movement of the ejector member.

Abstract: A drum-like container of fiberboard or similar material supplied in flat knocked-down form and adapted to be set up to serve as a shipping and dispensing container for bulk material. It is provided with a funnel-like dispensing bottom made up of fiberboard segmental wedge-shaped bottom insert sections which are supplied in flat knocked-down form and are adapted to be first set up and then positioned on the bottom of the container in a funnel-like arrangement with a central dispensing opening.

Abstract: High speed document processing and sorting apparatus. A stream of documents is guided along a path at high speed. A detector is mounted along said path to detect identifiable documents. A magazine is mounted to receive the detected documents. A vacuum wheel is mounted to remove the detected documents from said path to said magazine. The vacuum picker comprises a vacuum wheel mounted a predetermined spacing over said path, the vacuum wheel having a surface speed equal to the high speed document speed. A solid wheel is movably mounted below said vacuum wheel and below said path. A detector control moves the solid wheel and document up into contact with the vacuum wheel when it is desired to remove a document moving at high speed.

Abstract: A canister for storing a can of oil has an arrangement to mount it within the engine compartment or trunk of an automobile or to other motorized vehicles. An inverted funnel is secured to the upper end of the cannister, serving as a cover enclosure or upon detachment, as a funnel for adding oil to the engine. The funnel spout receives a cap or stopper which has a handle on its outer side and a can opener on its inner side normally enclosed within the funnel.

Abstract: A device for the bunkering and sorted feeding of small parts, particularly to processing machines, by which the small parts are removed from a bunker space in the bottom area of the bunker, which bunker space is refillable from the top, and via an intermediate inserted lifting unit are fed into the inlet prechamber of a sorting stretch, the latter being formed for example in the shape of a vibrating conveyor. The bunker, lifting unit and sorting section are accommodated in a container, such that the lifting unit rends with the upper end of the lifting device in front of the inlet prechamber of the sorting stretch. The subspace is partitioned-off relative to the bunker space, and the lifting unit is arranged in the subspace of the container, the lifting unit conveying-up rises transversely relative to the bunker outlet opening. The sorting stretch extends on the upper longitudinal edge of the container in a direction opposite to the bunker outlet direction.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a merchandise dispensing device for a vending machine. The device comprises a dispensing part, with a dispensing compartment floor, capable of pivoting from an intake position to a dispensing position. In the dispensing position, the merchandise, capable of rolling, especially bottles or tins, stored in inclined compartments prop by a support arch. A roll-on surface is provided in between the support arch and the dispensing compartment floor, to facilitate a rolling of the merchandise in the intake position, in which the dispensing compartment floor forms an obtuse angle with the roll-on surface and the dispensing compartment floor is wider than the roll-on surface.

Abstract: A method of separating a mineral component from particulate ore consisting of many components, such as oxides, silicates, carbonates, sulfides etc. is disclosed. The particulate ore is conditioned with a surface-active agent capable of selectively coating one of the components of the ore to the substantial exclusion of coating the other components. A coloring agent having an affinity towards the coating of surface active agent is combined with the surface active agent, providing the coated ore particles with a distinguishable color from the non-coated ore particles. The distinguishable color-coated ore particles are separated from the non-coated ore particles.

Abstract: There is disclosed a cup dispenser which employs a cam actuated cup accommodating and release assembly. A cam ring employs four cam surfaces about the periphery thereof. Each cam surface is associated with a flexible rocker arm. The cam ring is rotatably mounted within a dispenser housing and upon rotation of the ring by means of an associated lever, the rocker arms are moved inwardly or outwardly according to the diameter and dimensions of a cup to be accommodated. The position of the cam ring in regard to the rocker arm is predetermined according to fixed graduations associated with the lever mechanism. The rocker arms have a unique surface configuration which coacts with the cups to enable the top most cup to be withdrawn, while simultaneously exerting a counter force on succeeding cups within the stack. The force is in a direction to retain these cups within the housing, thus facilitating the removal of one cup at a time.

Abstract: This invention provides a method and apparatus for controlling the digging depth of the bucket of a backhoe or an excavator so as to move the digging edge of the backhoe bucket in a plane parallel to an overhead reference plane defined by a rotating laser beam. The detecting means for the laser beam is mounted on a medial portion of the downreach boom and the control of the position of the bucket is accomplished by moving the outreach boom of the backhoe relative to the supporting platform so as to maintain the detecting means on the downreach boom in a fixed relationship with respect to the reference plane defined by the rotating laser beam.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a new and useful filter aid dispensing arrangement for use in dispensing a powdered filter aid to uniformly precoat a filter media in a liquid filtration device where the arrangement includes: a container having a sidewall defining an open end to receive powdered filter aid and a closed end; apertures advantageously located in said sidewall to allow excess powdered filter aid to flow out of the container when a predetermined quantity of powdered filter aid is accumulated in the container where the container is in a first position; a handle to position the container in a first and a second position; a slot provided in transversely aligned relation in the sidewall adjacent the open end of the container to receive a bracket disposed in vertically aligned relation to secure the container in the second position; a baffle located within said container adjacent the open end and disposed across the container; a fluid inlet tube provided in the sidewall to admit a liquid tangentially wh

Abstract: Method and apparatus for bulk sorting particulate material such as ore rocks. A conveyor belt carries the material in a continuous stream past a detector responsive to a required characteristic to produce a time sequence of detector signals dependent on degree to which material passing the detector possesses that characteristic. The material is projected from the downstream end of the conveyor belt into free flight trajectory and a deflector plate is moved across the face flight path so that material in some zones of the stream is deflected whereas material in other zones is not deflected. A control circuit monitors the detector signals and causes the deflector plate to move so that said zones are determined by the degree to which the material in them possesses the required characteristic.

Abstract: This invention relates to a container for generally cylindrical tablets which can be used to repeatedly dispense the tablets in pre-determined quantities. The dispenser comprises an outer case and a slidably mounted inner part which together define a container, a dispensing gate, and a downward sloping channel connecting one or two ramps situated at the base of the container to the gate. The width of the channel is such as to allow a single column of tablets supported on their peripheries. The inner part is depressable from the exterior to cause relative movement between the gate and the channel from one position where the gate is in register with the channel to a second position where the gate is in register with a dispenser outlet. The relatively simple design of the dispenser enables it to be injection-moulded from plastic material.

Abstract: An ice maker dispenser structure wherein a removable chute is provided as a portion of a discharge duct leading from a discharge opening in a collecting bin for storing a plurality of discrete ice bodies to be dispensed. An agitator is disposed within the collecting bin adjacent the discharge opening and is operated to agitate the ice bodies adjacent the opening when a closure member is removed from the opening to effect the dispensing operation. An interlock is provided for preventing movement of the closure member away from the discharge opening in the event the chute is removed from the ice maker such as for servicing of the chute, thereby preventing injury to the user's fingers which may inadvertently be passed inwardly through the discharge opening into contact with the operating agitator.

Abstract: This invention is a tube compressing apparatus. It dispenses the contents of a tube by compressing the tube between rollers. It comprises a housing having fixed at one end a spout to which the open end of a tube is connected. The sealed end of a tube is supported by a clamp provided at the other end of the housing. A platen having a rack bar is supported for reciprocal movement in the housing. A second rack bar is fixed to the sides of the housing. A roller support platen intermediate the housing ends proceeds to compress the tube from the sealed end to the end connected to the spout. This is accomplished by providing a ratchet on the roller support platen which engage the reciprocally movable rack bars carried by the first mentioned platen when moving in the downward direction but is released when moving in the upward direction.

Abstract: Blueberry sorting, i.e. classifying, and apparatus therefor, to separate ripe berries from unripened berries and stems, by dynamically immersing all of the berries beneath the surface of a water bath, the unripened berries being controllably allowed to rise to float on the surface of the bath, the ripe berries being deposited on a submersed conveyor and conveyed out of the bath to a separate location. Berry immersion is achieved hydrodynamically by a downward stream of water which propels the berries down to cause release of gas bubbles on the ripe berry surfaces, carry them through a flow zone to the conveyor and then recirculate.

Abstract: A manually operated fluid dispensing device includes a first body component formed with a pump chamber and an upwardly opening cavity providing a valve housing that is closed by a second mating body component or cover having a projection that extends into the valve housing. A flat pliable valve element is clamped between said body components, said element being imperforate except for an opening through which said projection extends. A compressible bellows is associated with the pump chamber to form a variable volume pump chamber. The parts are all fabricated of thermoplastic materials and molding resins, the mating body components each being molded as a simple member of rigid plastic and including all passageways, grooves and ring seals required in the device.

Abstract: A sorting apparatus for a stock suspension obtained from waste paper, comprising a separation container having a free liquid surface for the separation of heavy weight particles and floating particles. Arranged after the separation container is a segregating or separator container for the separation of large surface particles floating in the stock suspension. The removal of the particles can be accomplished by rake devices provided with tines or prongs or the like. There also can be subsequently arranged removal devices containing coarse-mesh and fine-mesh sieves.

Abstract: A magnetic can separator which is specifically constructed for assuring the separation of all-aluminum cans from steel and steel-aluminum cans. The separator includes a magnetic drum onto which cans to be classified are directed and there is a deflector plate spaced from the path of the drum a distance such that a can must be disposed parallel to the axis of the drum before it can pass the deflector plate, thereby assuring that any steel component of a can will be attracted to the drum and will be delivered to a receiving area in exclusion of a receiving area for all-aluminum cans.

Abstract: Articles, such as rectangular thin film circuits (11), are sorted by advancing a row of the articles along a chute (20). The leading article (11-A) in the row is stopped in a test position with a releasable stop member (40), after which the lead article is tested for a characteristic, such as by a photoelectric detector (41) that scans a circuit and detects the absence or presence of an ink mark (16) previously applied to a defective circuit. If the article is of a first type (good circuit), the stop 40 is released so that the lead article advances further to a receiver (30). If the article is of a second type (bad circuit), a mechanism (45) is operated to eject the article transversely from the chute (arrow C). Preferably, an article to be ejected is pivoted (arrow F) about a transverse axis (F) to disengage the trailing edge (48) of the lead article (11-A) from the leading edge (49) of a following article (11-B) prior to ejection from the chute.

Abstract: The removal of so-called zip-tape from reclaim tobacco is achieved by use of an elongate vibratory conveyor having grooves extending longitudinally therewith and of longitudinal depth profile preselected from groove-containment of the reclaim tobacco, except for the zip-tape content thereof. Rollers having surface affinity for the zip-tape are arranged in overlying relation to the conveyor surface and groove rises, and are disposed in acute angle relation with the conveyor feed direction. The rollers are supported for joint movement with the conveyor so as to be maintained in fixed relation to the conveyor surface during vibration. Zip-tape encountered by the surfaces of the rollers is withdrawn from the conveyor grooves and is displaced successively transversely of the conveyor for collection aside the conveyor.