Abstract: A method and apparatus for delivering a particulate sample to an analyzing device such as a flame or plasma spectrometer, which provides relatively uniform, continuous and controlled delivery of a sample and allows sample changing without disrupting the operation of the analyzing device.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for exercising or testing the strength of muscles in the lower trunk of the human body. The patient or exerciser is seated with his pelvis and legs fixed against movement and with his head, arms and upper back fixed relative to a movement arm which extends above the seat and is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the seat about a horizontal axis. While the movement arm is in a predetermined position, the patient applies a force through the upper back to the movement arm to stress the muscles of the lower trunk, and the strength of these muscles is measured. To exercise these muscles, the movement arm is moved by a force exerted by the upper back against a bias of a resistance weight to lift the weight, and then the force is released to lower the weight and the process is repeated. A compound weight system is employed to allow precise weight adjustment to suit the strength of the exerciser.

Abstract: A differential pressure transmitter, a pneumatically operated square root extracting device therefor and methods of making the same are provided, the transmitter comprising a unit for producing an output pneumatic signal from a pneumatic source in relation to the air velocity pressure of air flowing in a passage, a unit that senses the difference between the total pressure and the static pressure of the air flowing in the passage, and a unit for extracting the square root of the air velocity pressure of the air from the pneumatic output signal as the pneumatic output signal is being produced so that the pneumatic output signal is substantially linear with respect to the air velocity of the air flow in the passage whereby the transmitter comprises a linear air velocity transmitter, the unit for extracting the square root comprising a cam having a cam face that defines at least part of the involute of a circle.

Abstract: A bearingless flowmeter having a ring rotor disposed in a vortex chamber having a plurality of jets spaced circumferentially around the chamber has the ring rotor unbalanced thereby producing a single wobble mode of rotation.

Abstract: A sensor, particularly for automatic release of occupant safety devices in power vehicles in the event of an accident, the sensor comprises a housing which forms a closed chamber; a body located in the housing and formed as a seismic mass, the closed chamber of the housing being completely filled with a fluid, the body being formed as a pendulum of a predetermined length, the chamber having a wall on which a boundary layer of the fluid is formed, the chamber having in all swinging direction of the pendulum a radius which is greater than the length of a pendulum and the boundary layer of the fluid formed on the wall of the chamber, the pendulum and the fluid having specific weights which differ from one another, the pendulum and the fluid being selected so that a friction during movement of the pendulum relative to the fluid leads to an aperiodecal damping of the pendulum.

Abstract: A device for sensing fluid flow comprises a housing having an inlet and an outlet and defining a fluid flow channel between the inlet and the outlet, a first member disposed in the fluid flow channel and including at least one rigid portion, and a second member disposed in the fluid flow channel upstream from the first member and including at least one flexible portion, the flexible portion being elastically flexible between an initial position spaced from the rigid portion and defining a first effective flow area and a final position adjacent the rigid portion and defining a second effective flow area which exceeds the first effective flow area. The device includes pressure passages including a linking arrangement for conveying pressures to a pressure transducer from upstream and downstream of the second member, the pressure measurements being correlated to a fluid flow rate. The link arrangement protects the transducer from pressure surges. The pressure transducer may be disposed in the housing.

Abstract: The invention relates to an oscillating jet meter for fluids, with an assembly in which are formed substantially the chambers and passages of the flow system conveying the fluid, and wherein the inlet and outlet openings of the flow system are in communication with respective pipe connections for the installation of the meter. An oscillating fluid jet is generated in the flow system, the frequency of which within the designated measurement range is at least approximately proportional to the flow velocity of the fluid and which is measured with a measuring instrument so as to determine the throughflow of the fluid in a calculating unit. The aforementioned assembly is in the form of a housing which is closed, except for the inlet and outlet openings, whereas the housing is surrounded on all sides by a pressure-tight casing which carries the two pipe connections.

Abstract: A method of measuring the direction of mechanical vibrations, in which a plurality of points are marked on the surface of a vibrating object along the arc of a circle of a given radius at a constant pitch selected from a range of 1.2 to 1.8 of the amplitude of mechanical vibrations, forming a circular scale and while moving together with the vibrating object making up, depending on the shape of a trajectory of mechanical vibrations, stroboscopically still equal segments of a straight line or patterns. A group of straight line adjacent segments disposed at a minimum distance in a radial direction or patterns having a maximum overlapping and a radially arranged axis of symmetry is visually defined. An ordinal number is determined of one or two straight line segments or of one or two patterns through which the axis of symmetry passes, and the direction of mechanical vibrations is measured on the circular scale by an angle corresponding to this ordinal number.

Abstract: An acceleration detector, the spring is a substrate plate, e.g., of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, which is fixed at one end in a housing. The resistors and the evaluating circuit are arranged on the spiral spring and can be applied to the substrate plate in a single work step using thick-film technology.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for measuring the flow of a packed bed of particles moving in a primary stream comprises positioning a feedpipe having an open end facing downstream in the primary stream and feeding a secondary stream of particles through the feedpipe to satisfy a void that would otherwise be formed downstream of the feedpipe due to the passage of the primary stream of particles. The flow of the primary stream is proportional to the flow of the secondary stream. The flow of the secondary stream can be measured either by measuring the amount of particles being metered into the feedpipe or by connecting a hopper to the feedpipe and measuring the rate at which a level of particles in the hopper falls.

Abstract: There is described a method and apparatus for measuring small changes in the thickness profile of band-shaped or web material wound onto a reel, such as photographic base paper. The invention includes a measuring sensor with a scanning tip. The measuring sensor is positioned in the center of the rectangular block. The block and sensor are supported in a movable manner in a casing which is moved in an axial direction over the surface of the reel. The length of the block preferably contributes a mechanical amplification of the sensed variation in thickness profile of the web material.

Abstract: The quantity of a flow of bulk material passing over a measuring wheel is continuously measured by measuring the load r.p.m. of the wheel or of a motor driving the wheel and the power output torque of the motor. The resulting r.p.m. and torque values are used for calculating the quantity. Interfering influences are substantially eliminated by using a correction value in the calculation. The correction value is based on the inertia moment of all rotating components of the system and on variations in the load r.p.m. Load r.p.m. and power output torque measuring devices provide data to a microprocessor for the calculations for achieving a high measuring precision even when the r.p.m. varies.

Abstract: An apparatus for testing the surface properties of a material is disclosed. The apparatus includes an indentor which is suspended above the surface of a sample and dropped onto the sample. Several testing methods are also disclosed. Surface toughness is measured by dropping the indentor from a variable height and inspecting the surface for failure. Thin film strength is tested by making several drops from various heights and inspecting the surface for flaking of the layer. In addition, damping capacity can be measured by comparing the kinetic energy of the resulting from the drop of the indentor to the strain energy measured by a probe on the opposing surface of the sample.

Abstract: Optimization of running conditions of an automobile wheel is achieved by matching (readjustment of tire relative to rim) after two measuring runs of the tire/rim assembly and in which the static and dynamic unbalance vectors of the tire and rim include coefficients of influence on said running conditions.

Abstract: A speed indicator device for vehicles is described, of the type in which the speed indication is given over a scale by an index fitted to an oscillating element drawn for example, by a permanent magnet carried into rotation by the shaft of an electric motor. The device comprises a bush on one side fixed to the magnet and on the other fixed, by a spring, to the shaft of the electric motor.

Abstract: An intake air meter for measuring the intake air of an internal combustion engine operates on the principle of an ultrasonic Karman vortex flowmeter. A Karman vortex shedder is disposed in the main intake air passageway of an engine. Ultrasonic waves which are generated by an ultrasonic transmitter are phase modulated by the Karman vortex street which is shed by the vortex shedder. An ultrasonic receiver receives the ultrasonic waves and produces a phase modulated output signal, which is demodulated using a phase locked loop and a low-pass filter. The output of the low-pass filter can be used to count the rate of which Karman vortices are generated by the vortex shedder.

Abstract: An inertia body moves from a rest position in response to an applied acceleration and in so doing operates an electrical switch remote from the rest position. The body moves on spaced rails of a track arranged in a plane, with an aperture between the rails so that the body can extend below the running surfaces of the rails. The plane may be inclined and/or the rails may be non-parallel so that the center of gravity of the body rises as it moves from the rest position.

Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging apparatus is constituted by an ultrasonic transducer for scanning an object to be examined with an ultrasonic beam in a plurality of scan directions and converting echo waves from the object into echo signals, a transmitter for driving the ultrasonic transducer twice, so as to cause the ultrasonic transducer to emit the ultrasonic beam twice in each scan direction, a delay circuit for causing the echo signals to be subjected to signal-processing by different delay amounts to alternately form odd- and even-numbered receiving focus regions in the scan direction upon two transmission operations of the ultrasonic beam and for outputting echo signal components corresponding to the odd- and even-numbered receiving focus regions, and a mixing circuit for mixing the echo signal components corresponding to the odd- and even-numbered receiving focus regions to form video data for one scan line.

Abstract: The apparatus includes a parallelogram frame (50) including two accelerometer support surfaces (24, 26) on which are mounted two accelerometers (20 and 22) having their sensitive axes in parallel alignment. The accelerometer support surfaces are connected to opposite ends of a flex member (52), which includes six flexures (32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42) having parallel bending axes. Two of the flexures (34, 38) are disposed at opposite ends of one side of each flexure member, and have a "long" axis that is substantially parallel to the sensitive axes of the accelerometers and aligned with a line connecting their centers of percussion. The centers of mass of the accelerometers and their associated supporting surfaces are coincident with the centers of percussion, and are rigidly connected by the two flexures and by one side (30) of each flex member. This solid metal path between the centers of percussion minimizes common mode errors.

Abstract: A flow sensor comprises a body (4) formed with a through bore (5), at least one fluid inlet (6, 7) and one fluid outlet (7,6) for permitting ingress and egress of fluid to and from the sensor, and a spool (8) slidably mounted within the bore and having at least one shaped end (38) past which fluid flows from the inlet to the outlet, characterized in that the spool (8) also has resilient means (26) mounted internally thereof and acting against and between two spaced abutments (27, 28) which are connected to the interior of the spool in such a way that they move with the spool in one direction of movement thereof and slide relative to the spool in the opposite direction of movement thereof, the spool being arranged to close the outlet in the null position of the spool when no fluid takes place, and being movable against the action of the resilient means when fluid flow is present, to open the outlet, the extent of movement being representative of the rate of flow of the fluid and being sensed by sensor means (3