Abstract: A retractable spool reel integrated inside of or attached to a waterfowl decoy comprises a spool and a locking assembly housed inside an internal compartment such that a weighted line wound around the spool may be locked in place at a desired length. The weighted line may be pulled until the locking assembly is set in the locked position. The pulling of the weighted line unwinds the spool and coils a flat spring integrated into the spool. The uncoiling of the flat spring once the line is released allows the line to retract back into the spool once the locking assembly is removed from the locked position.

Abstract: A movable barrier operator includes an absolute position detector which provides a unique value for each position of the barrier along its path of travel. The absolute position detector employs multiple binary serial streams and one multiple clock stream. After the first five cycles of the clock stream, the binary streams can be decoded by a processor to produce an absolute position. Every clock edge produces a new absolute position along the path of travel.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for molding thermal protection system (TPS) tiles for spacecraft includes a bottom mold member defining a mold surface shaped like a surface of the spacecraft, e.g., the nose cap or wing leading edge, sought to be thermally protected. A flat billet of TPS material is positioned over the periphery of the mold surface, and a hollow weight element that has a periphery configured like the periphery of the mold surface is positioned on the billet. The billet is then heated in accordance with a predetermined heating regime, and during the heating process the weight of the weight element causes the billet to deform to assume the shape of the mold surface. If desired, a TUFI coating is impregnated into the billet prior to heating, and the coating is sintered to the billet during heating. After heating, a composite matrix material, e.g., a graphite or fiberglass cloth which is impregnated with epoxy or polimide, is bonded to the now-shaped tile to support the tile.