Abstract: A hand-operated, wheeled carrier for transporting large-sized plates, such as building boards, comprises a stand including a generally upright frame structure mounted on an elongate base structure having along one longitudinal side thereof brackets, on which a small number of plates to be carried may be rested on edge in a position leaning against the frame structure, a hook member and strap connected to the stand being provided to releasably retain the plates in such position. Substantially midway between its ends and close to the plate brackets the base structure has a single, relatively large supporting wheel adapted to take the entire load, when the stand is to be moved, the stand then being balanced on the single wheel by the operator. A pair of casters, one near each end of the base structure, provide additional supports for keeping the stand in a stable position when at rest, the casters being located further away from the plate brackets than the supporting wheel.

Abstract: A container handling system is provided for the conveyance of containers from one location to another. The system is able to handle palletized containers and operate as an order picking pallet return system. The manual operations involved in loading and unloading the containers with respect to one apparatus of the system are safeguarded from being conducted incorrectly, thereby enabling accident free use of the system under normal operation.

Abstract: A device for selectably positioning onto an automobile an invalid's wheelchair comprising a fixed support apparatus mountable onto the roof of an automobile and defining a fixed track, an axle arranged for rotational rolling engagement with the track and movement therealong, and wheelchair support shaft apparatus defining first and second ends, the first end being rotatably mounted onto the axle and the second end being associated with a wheelchair for support thereof.

Abstract: A large cargo vessel is loaded by moving a self-unloading barge alongside and fixing it relative to the vessel. A boom assembly of the barge is slewed into alignment with a hold of the vessel whereupon a shuttle conveyor is extended over the open hold. Bulk material is then unloaded from the barge to the vessel. The boom assembly can be incrementally slewed, luffed, extended and retracted to position cargo in the hold. And, the barge can be repositioned next to the ship without assistance of a tug.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for transferring plural articles from a shipping carton to a receptacle from which such articles are orderly removed to a machine for further processing is described. The apparatus is constructed from a shuttle box adapted to receive the shipping carton, a pusher bar adapted to load the shipping carton into the shuttle box and for withdrawing the carton such that the articles remain within the shuttle box, and an ejector blade adapted to reciprocally remove articles from the shuttle box to be conveyed to machine for further processing.

Abstract: The dust collection units in a rotary railroad car dumper installation are mounted over the hopper pit along each side of the cylindrical, rotatable dumper frame so that dust ladened air can be sucked directly into the dust collection units without the need for duct work and the collected dust can be returned directly to the pit without the need for easily clogged screw conveyors and small chutes. The dust collection units also form with air shields mounted on the cylindrical dumper frame, a rotary valve which restricts flow such that ambient air is sucked into the hopper pit by the dust collection units at velocities which exceed the capture velocity of the dust clouds created by dumping of the contents of the car. The air shields include orthogonal pairs of planar members mounted on the rotary frame.

Abstract: An apparatus for discharging radioactive waste from its container comprises a truck movable toward and away from the container by a driving motor, a seizing member including claws capable of closing and opening to seize and release the radioactive waste little by little, a cylinder connected to the seizing member for closing and opening the claws, a further cylinder for tilting the seizing member downwardly to eject the seized waste and a detector for detecting pressure caused by the seizing member penetrating into the waste when the truck is driven toward the container by the driving motor to produce signals for stopping the truck and operating the first mentioned cylinder to close the claws. The apparatus safely and securely discharges little by little the radioactive waste filled in the storage container without any risk of exposing operators to the radioactive radiation emitted from the waste, thereby saving time and labor and making easy next processes for burning it.

Abstract: A wheelchair lift such as for vehicles, comprising a stationary outer rectangular frame across the top of which swings an inner rectangular telescopic frame, the lower telescoping end of which has a foldable platform for the wheelchair. The inner frame swings out to clear the side of the vehicle, which swinging movement is limited by a pair of toggles that support a bridging platform between the lift platform and the floor of the vehicle. An electric motor-driven hydraulic pump, valve, and accumulator assembly provides the power for lifting the platform by telescoping the inner frame parts, and a valve in the hydraulic system damps the lowering of the platform. The folding of the platform from a vertical to a horizontal position and swinging of the inner frame may be done manually or by a separate reciprocating motor mounted on the upper telescopic frame.

Abstract: Stacks of superimposed paper sheets are formed from a succession of layers each of which contains a given number of groups of sheets. One or more layers which contain a first number of groups can be followed by one or more layers containing a different second number of groups so that a stack can contain layers which, in turn, contain different numbers of groups and hence different numbers of sheets. The number of sheets in each stack and in each layer is a whole multiple of the number of sheets in a group. If the average number of sheets in a series of successive stacks is to deviate from a whole multiple of the number of sheets in a group, successive stacks contain different numbers of sheets; each such number is a whole multiple of the number of sheets in a group but the total number of sheets in the series of stacks divided by the number of stacks which form the series can deviate from such whole multiple.

Abstract: The bulkhead of a solid refuse transport vehicle of the type having a tilting bucket and a tilting packer plate the free end edge of which discharges the contents of the bucket is improved by providing the packer plate with a convex protrusion extending transversely of the packer plate and disposed near the discharge opening, to improve the pre-compacting of the refuse before its discharge from the bulkhead. The improved arrangement can be combined with a further feature of the invention whereby a standard, rectangular refuse container is releasably held in abutment with the bulkhead.

Abstract: A gooseneck apparatus for connecting a lowboy trailer to a truck-tractor includes a horizontal section having a king pin connection and a vertical section. A trailer coupling apparatus is secured to the vertical section and to the tractor. A hydraulically actuated lift mechanism positions the gooseneck apparatus with respect to a tractor bed. The gooseneck apparatus includes forward slotted plates adapted to mate with coupling pins on the trailer for vertical support of the trailer. A horizontal coupling includes a pneumatic operated vertical coupling pin on the gooseneck and releasably placed in a pin opening in a front plate on the trailer. The vertical sections include load walls which pivot between a vertical support position and a release position. The latter permits collapse of the gooseneck apparatus and the trailer bed to allow separation of the trailer and gooseneck apparatus.

Abstract: An auxiliary rig is used in combination with a primary drilling or workover rig. The primary drilling rig typically includes an elongated upstanding drill tower, a base and a crown block. The auxiliary rig of the present invention includes a racking tower detachably mounted with the upper end of the drill tower to form an extension to the drill tower for receiving interconnected pairs of tubular members to reduce the tripping time of the tubular members into and out of the well. A movable slip and a controller therefor of the auxiliary rig are operably guided by the racking tower for releasably supporting the pairs of tubular members.

Abstract: Simultaneous removal from a multi-level press of all press trays carrying particle board panels is achieved with a press unloading installation. Such installation consists of a vertically movable press unloader cage having chain conveyor pairs, primary supports for the press trays and panels, and auxiliary supports for the trays alone after separation from the panels. The installation further includes a discharge device for removing the press trays from the auxiliary supports of the unloader cage. In order to shorten the return transport of flexible press trays, separation between the finished pressed particle board panels and the flexible press trays is accomplished in the press unloader cage.

Abstract: A self-erecting silo assembly comprises a horizontally elongated trailer frame and a cylindrical paving mix bin that overlies the frame when in a horizontal transport position, with its front side lowermost and its top end near a front end of the frame. Rear legs on which the bin is supported when erected are rigidly connected to the bin; front legs have their upper ends pivoted to the bottom of the bin. A detachable bin connection between the bin and the frame defines a horizontal axis about which the bin is swung up from transport position to an inclined intermediate position at which detachable leg connections are made between the rear legs and the frame. The bin connection is then disconnected, the bin is swung up to upright position about the leg connections, and the bottom ends of the front legs are connected to the frame.

Abstract: Apparatus is shown for substantially increasing the feed rate of pulverized material into a pressurized container. The apparatus includes a rotor that is mounted internal to the pressurized container. The pulverized material is fed into an annular chamber defined by the center of the rotor. A plurality of impellers are mounted within the annular chamber for imparting torque to the pulverized material.

Abstract: An unloader for discharging material stored in a silo or similar through an outlet opening in the bottom of the silo has a frame which pivots around a vertical axis and on which is supported a horizontal transport screw rotating around its longitudinal axis. The pivot frame is provided with an upper protecting hood which, in order to prevent arching of material located on top of it, is mounted on the pivot frame so that it does not rotate, as the pivot frame rotates, but continuously is inclined back and forth.

Abstract: An apparatus for handling pallets is provided. The apparatus includes a tiltable pallet stack receiver for receiving an upright stack of pallets at a pallet stack station and for tilting the stack downwardly to a generally horizontal position, a mechanism for laterally displacing the stack from a position in endwise alignment with the pallet stack station to one in endwise alignment with a pallet sorting station which is laterally offset from the pallet stack station, and a pallet indexer for displacing the horizontally disposed stack in an endwise direction toward the pallet sorting station as pallets are removed from an end of the stack. The invention thus provides a pallet sorting capability which is faster and involves less manual labor than necessary with conventional sorting systems.

Abstract: A device for separating a batch of sheets from a pile of sheets and introducing the batch into a conveyor of a machine designed for processing the sheets characterized by a frame having a movable stop member mounted thereon, a unit for moving a pile of sheets so that the end of the pile is adjacent the movable stop, a unit which cooperates with the movable stop and separates a batch of sheets from the one end of the pile and another unit for moving the separated batch of sheets in a second direction parallel to the plane of the sheets in the pile to pass through an opening provided by moving the movable stop to enable introduction of the batch into a conveyor of a machine.

Abstract: A method for removing at least one flat article at a time from an at least approximately vertical stack of articles supported on a support surface, by the steps of pushing at least the lowermost article in the stack sideways away from the stack by moving an ejector member transversely to the stack, and approximately simultaneously with the contact of the ejector member at the lowermost article, lowing the support surface in such a manner that the ejector member ejects the lowermost article from the stack during free fall of the lowermost article.

Abstract: Stack handling apparatus includes an input delivery section having two spaced apart conveyor segments operatively arranged to move equidistantly with respect to a centerline between the two conveyor segments. A stack formation section receives articles conveyed in a serial stream from the input delivery section and includes a carriage having a blade apparatus which is maintained at a generally constant predetermined angle as the carriage is transported in a closed loop transport movement path. Articles are assembled into batches on the blade apparatus, and each batch is transferred to door gate apparatus by relative linear movement. The door gate apparatus releases the batch for linear free fall movement to a turntable mechanism of a stack delivery section. The turntable mechanism alternately rotates 180.degree. after the receipt of each batch. Longitudinally extendable hydraulic assemblies are eccentrically connected to rotate the turntable mechanism.