Abstract: A dispenser for dispensing a repositionable adhesive note paper from a roll includes a housing defining an interior and a discharge opening. A drive system of the dispenser includes a roller rotatably mounted within the housing interior and a motor engaging the roller to rotate the roller with respect to the housing about a central axis of the roller. A pressure member is located within the housing and is preferably movable with between an engaged position where it urges the paper into contact with the roller and a disengaged position where it is separated from the roller to permit loading of paper.

Abstract: A modulated steam cooker in which food to be cooked is received in an oven chamber having an access door associated with a door switch, steam being fed directly into the oven by a steam generator having an electric heater immersed in a pool of water. The heater is connected through the door switch to a power source whereby the generator is powered only when the door is shut. The pressure of steam draining from the oven is sensed by a pressure-responsive switch interposed between the heater and the power source, the pressure switch intermittently interrupting the power supplied to the heater only when the sensed pressure exceeds a predetermined level somewhat above atmospheric pressure, thereby modulating the generation of steam supplied to the oven as a function of the quantity and temperature of food therein to effect efficient cooking of the food. Mounted on the steam generator is a spray head supplied with water only when the door is opened.

Abstract: A waste compaction and liquid extraction system and method are provided. The system includes a tank for containing liquid and solids, and a tray that seats on the tank. The tray includes a feeding mechanism for moving bags of waste across the tray, and a stuffing mechanism for pushing the bags down into the tank. A rotary disc impeller is mounted in the tank for grinding the solids to form a mixture of liquid and solids. The impeller has a rotating blade with inclined and bevelled cutting members. A stationary helical screw is horizontally mounted to the output port of the tank. The screw has a receiving end adjacent to the output port and a discharge end. The tank conducts the mixture to the receiving end of the screw. A sieve is provided having a cylindrical sieve surface surrounding the screw. The liquid drains through the sieve. The sieve is rotatably mounted to the output port of the tank. The sieve rotates about the screw to move the solids longitudinally towards the discharge end of the screw.

Abstract: A modulated steam cooker in which food to be cooked is received in an oven chamber having an access door associated with a door switch, steam being fed directly into the oven by a steam generator having an electric heater immersed in a pool of water. The heater is connected through the door switch to a power source whereby the generator is powered only when the door is shut. The pressure of steam draining from the oven is sensed by a pressure-responsive switch interposed between the heater and the power source, the pressure switch intermittently interrupting the power supplied to the heater only when the sensed pressure exceeds a predetermined level somewhat above atmospheric pressure, thereby modulating the generation of steam supplied to the oven as a function of the quantity and temperature of food therein to effect efficient cooking of the food. Mounted on the steam generator is a spray head supplied with water only when the door is opened.

Abstract: A flag display device for mounting a flag or pennant to the exterior surface of a vehicle, such as a windshield, window, or roof includes a flag staff having a flag affixed at one end and an annular base member at the opposite end. A suction cup depends from the base member for securing the flag display device to the surface. The base member also has a plurality of flexible legs radially extending from the annular ring to the surface which engage the surface at individual, separate and distinctly spaced contact points adjacent an outer perimeter of the suction cup when the suction cup is depressed, so that a force applied to the flag staff is transferred to the surface through the individual leg contact points and the suction cup and the flag staff remains stable even when wind forces are applied to the flag and flag staff. The flag display device further includes a mounting member for securing the flag staff to the base member.

Abstract: A waste compaction and liquid extraction system is provided. The system includes a tank for containing liquid and solids. The tank has an input port for receiving liquid, and an output port for discharging a mixture of liquid and solids. A rotary disc impeller is mounted in the tank for grinding the solids to form the mixture. The impeller has a rotating blade with inclined and bevelled cutting members. Each cutting member has a helical leading edge. The tank conducts the mixture to the output port. A stationary helical screw is horizontally mounted to the output port of the tank. The screw has a receiving end adjacent to the output port and a discharge end. The screw has a tapered shaft that increases in diameter towards the discharge end. A sieve is provided having a cylindrical sieve surface surrounding the screw. The liquid drains through the sieve surface. The sieve is rotatably mounted to the output port of the tank.

Abstract: A modular "knock-down" type shelving system having adjustable height shelves includes a plastic support post having a generally right equilateral triangular cross-section. The support post is composed of pultruded thermosetting plastic having unidirectional E Glass fibers extending therethrough and a thermoplastic coating bonded to the outer surface thereof. The inner surface of the interior side of the support post is bowed outwardly. As a result, when a wedge member is disposed on the interior side of the post and the support post and wedge member combination supports by wedge action a sleeve comprising an end beam and a collar, the interior side of the support post is urged outwardly and is supported by the wedge member. The collar is locked to the end beam when a tongue of the collar passes through a slot in the end beam into a rotatable lock in a blind hole in the bottom of the end beam.

Abstract: A safety hypodermic needle and shielding cap assembly attachable to a standard syringe adapted to prevent the needle after it has been injected in a patient and then withdrawn, from accidental sticking the operator. The syringe includes a fluid chamber provided at its front end with a projecting nozzle surrounded by a cylindrical socket. The assembly includes a hollow hub receivable in the syringe socket and a needle mounted on the hub and extending along its longitudinal axis whereby the nozzle projects into the hub to deliver fluid to the needle. Mounted adjacent one side of the hub is a short track on which is slidable a flexible push rod on whose upper end is laterally attached a shielding cap having a center bore in alignment with the needle. In the operating mode of the assembly, the push rod is retracted and the cap is then telescoped on the hub to expose the needle for injection into a patient.

Abstract: A dental X-ray aiming device adapted to place an X-ray film packet having sharp edges at a proper position in the oral cavity of a patient. The device includes a packet holder that serves to shield the sharp edges of the packet to avoid direct contact with tissue within the oral cavity and the resultant discomfort, pain or trauma. The holder is formed by a rectangular frame of resilient plastic material within which the packet is socketed, and a bite block joined to the front of the frame which, when clenched between the teeth of the patient, then places the held film packet behind a tooth region to be examined. The device also includes a distance-calibrated guide rod which is detachably coupled to the bite block, and a sighting ring adapted to receive the nose cone of an X-ray unit, the ring being slidable along the rod to a desired position thereon, whereby an X-ray beam is projected from the nose cone in accurate relationship to the film packet.

Abstract: A modular "knock-down" type shelving system having adjustable height shelves includes a plastic support post having a generally right equilateral triangular cross-section. The support post is composed of pultruded thermosetting plastic having unidirectional E Glass fibers extending therethrough and a thermoplastic coating bonded to the outer surface thereof. The inner surface of the interior side of the support post is bowed outwardly. As a result, when a wedge member is disposed on the interior side of the post and the support post and wedge member combination supports by wedge action a sleeve comprising an end beam and a collar, the interior side of the support post is urged outwardly and is supported by the wedge member. The collar is locked to the end beam when a tongue of the collar passes through a slot in the end beam into a rotatable lock in a blind hole in the bottom of the end beam.

Abstract: A modular "knock-down" type shelving system having adjustable height shelves includes a plastic support post having a generally right equilateral triangular cross-section. The support post is composed of pultruded thermosetting plastic having unidirectional E Glass fibers extending therethrough and a thermoplastic coating bonded to the outer surface thereof. The inner surface of the interior side of the support post is bowed outwardly. As a result, when a wedge member is disposed on the interior side of the post and the support post and wedge member combination supports by wedge action a sleeve comprising an end beam and a collar, the interior side of the support post is urged outwardly and is supported by the wedge member. The collar is locked to the end beam when a tongue of the collar passes through a slot in the end beam into a rotatable lock in a blind hole in the bottom of the end beam.

Abstract: A tamper-proof fastener provided with a threaded shank and a low-profile drive head integral therewith. The drive head has a generally frusto-conical shape defining a circular flat top and a circular base of larger diameter, three short noses separated 120 degrees apart projecting from the sloped side of the drive head. The fastener is installed in a substrate or withdrawn therefrom by means of a tool having a driver head provided with a complementary frusto-conical socket to accommodate the drive head of the fastener, the wall of the socket having recesses therein to receive the noses of the head whereby a torque may be applied thereto.

Abstract: A two-piece mobile bar which may house a beverage cooling and dispensing system for dispensing cold beverages through a multi-valved gun operated by a bartender stationed behind the bar. The first piece is a base unit defined by vertical end walls bridged by upper and lower sections, the upper section being joined to the end walls at corresponding positions below the upper edges of the end walls. The space between the upper and lower sections is divided into open cells which receive beverage and other containers. The upper section is provided with a sink in which a cold plate is seated, the cold plate having coils embedded therein in heat exchange relationship with ice covering the plate. The coil inputs are coupled to the containers and the outputs to the gun, whereby beverages passing through the coils are cooled before being dispensed. Coupling is effected by a network of hoses which extend through a shallow region contiguous with the front side of the unit.

Abstract: A safety hypodermic needle and shielding cap assembly for a standard syringe whose fluid chamber is provided at its front end with a projecting nozzle coaxial with a coupling socket. The assembly includes a needle-supporting hub whose hollow base is coupled to the socket of the syringe, the nozzle then communicating with the needle. Encircling the hub and attached thereto is a resilient actuator collar defining an annular space within which is received the lower end of a helical spring surrounding the needle extending from the hub. The upper end of the spring is received in the cavity of a shielding cap having a center bore therein through which the needle is passable. The cap is tethered by opposing lines of unequal length to the collar.

Abstract: A cold plate for cooling different beverages drawn from supply cylinders, the cold plate being formed by a rectangular base over which is a run-off roof defined by sloping end and side sections. Embedded in the cold plate are cooling coils terminating in input and output terminals that project from the underside of the base, the coil inputs being coupled by upstream lines to respective supply cylinders, the coil outputs being coupled by downstream lines to a soda gun to selectively dispense the beverages. The cold plate is received in the well of a thermally-insulated sink having an open bottom bordered by a rectangular ledge. The base of the cold plate is seated on the ledge in spaced relation to the sides of the well to define a gutter in which there is a water drain. The sink is filled with ice cubes that cover the exposed surfaces of the cold plate and are in heat-exchange relationship with the cooling coils to cool the beverages flowing therethrough.

Abstract: A connector sleeve device for connecting together first and second posts, comprises a sleeve having an outer surface dimensioned to be received within the interior surfaces of the first and second posts. A first flexible protrusion is formed in a mid-region of the sleeve and has an abutment surface adapted to abut an end surface of the first post when the sleeve is received therein. The contact between the abutment surface and the end surface prevents the sleeve from being moved further into the second post. A second flexible protrusion is formed in the mid-region of the sleeve and has a second abutment surface adapted to abut an end surface of the second post when the sleeve is inserted into the second post. The contact between the second abutment surface and end surface of the second post prevents the sleeve from being moved further into the second post.

Abstract: A piggyback conditioner unit usable in conjunction with a Ni-Cad battery power pack and a standard charger for the pack, the pack being normally adapted to be seated on and connected to the charger for recharging. The power pack is subject to a "memory effect" that decreases its ability to regain its rated energy capacity unless before being recharged, it is first discharged from its existing state of discharge to a deep discharge state. When put to use, the battery conditioner unit is physically and electrically interposed between the charger and the power pack to create an assembly in which the unit is seated on and electrically connected to the charger, and the pack is seated on and electrically connected to the unit. The unit includes means to further discharge the power pack seated thereon until a deep discharge state is reached, which condition is reflected in a reduced pack voltage that is sensed to automatically activate the charger which then proceeds to recharge the pack.

Abstract: A connector sleeve device for connecting together first and second posts comprises a sleeve having an outer surface dimensioned to be received within the interior surfaces of the first and second posts. A first flexible protrusion is formed in a mid-region of the sleeve and has an abutment surface adapted to abut an end surface of the first post when the sleeve is received therein. The contact between the abutment surface and the end surface prevents the sleeve from being moved further into the first post. A second flexible protrusion is formed in the mid-region of the sleeve and has a second abutment surface adapted to abut an end surface of the second post when the sleeve is inserted into the second post. The contact between the second abutment surface and the end surface of the second post prevents the sleeve from being moved further into the second post.