Abstract: The presence of overlapped sheets on a paper transport is detected by employing such sheets as an acoustic interference filter. A beam of ultrasonic energy of appropriate frequency, angularly oriented to the planar transport path, will be attenuated to a much greater extent than the attenuation calculated based on the attenuation of a single sheet, as a result of destructive combining of wavefronts reflected from the facing surfaces of the overlapped sheets.

Abstract: A fiber optically lighted food dispenser valve handle assembly (10) with at least one fiber optic filament (12) with an elongate body extending between a pair of opposite ends (14, 16) means for illuminating (18) including a light source (26) with one of the pair of opposed ends (16) of at least one fiber optic filament (12), a handle grip (20) with an outer surface (22), means at the outer surface (22) such as adhesive material for holding another one of the pair of opposed ends (14) of at least a fiber optic filament (12) to provide end point illumination at the outer surface (22) of the handle grip (20).

Abstract: A vending machine (10) with a safety electrical back light sign assembly (32) having a sign panel assembly with a translucent sign panel (18A) and a fiber optic sign panel (18B) secured together to form an enclosure of a main housing (16) within which is contained a back light source (32A, 34B) having its own source of power (33, 35) shared with the other vending machine components (12, 14) and a fiber optic light assembly (36) with a fiber optic light source (38) protectively contained within a fire resistant housing (51) mounted within the housing (16) and having its own connection to AC power (47, 49) separate from the connection for the remainder of the vending machine (10) and a fan (63) to exhaust the interior of the fire resistant housing (51) of hot air, and a method of safe lighting of a sign panel assembly (18) of a vending machine (10).

Abstract: A vending machine (10) with a first translucent panel (18A) primarily back lit by a first back light subassembly (32) and a second translucent sign panel (18B) primarily back lit by a second back light subassembly (36) having a transformer (34), halogen housing lamp socket (54) with a halogen lamp (38) spaced above a rotatable color wheel (44) driven by a motor (46) and causing the receiving end of a fiber optic cable (40) to convey light to selected locations on the second translucent sign panel (18B) all of which are held together in proper position and mounted together by means of a single elongate frame (62) with transverse arm (62A, 62B and 62C) and preconnected with the same source of power (50) as is connected to the first panel (18A).

Abstract: The recognition of patterns is accomplished through boundary tracing and subsequent storage of encoded range testable data commensurate with the occurrence, interrelationship and orientation of geometric features on the pattern boundaries. The encoded data is compared with generalized prototypes which define the geometric shape of all probable permutations of all possible patterns to be recognized, a match between the encoded data and a prototype constituting identification of the pattern.