Abstract: A fluid treatment device is described which includes a cylindrical housing with fluid inlet and outlet means at or adjacent opposite ends. Particulate material for treating fluid flowed through the device, is disposed within the housing, between the inlet and outlet means. A helical baffle is disposed within the housing in the particulate material. The baffle extends axially along the housing and the free edges of its fins are in contact with the housing. The baffle serves to impose a helical path on fluid flowing through the device so that, when the device is mounted with its axis horizontal and with a volume of particulate material less than the volume of the space within the housing, fluid flows through the particulate material most of the time and not entirely along the void as would be the case if the baffle were not present.

Abstract: A water filter cartridge includes a reverse osmosis membrane permeator spirally wound on a central winding tube and surrounded by an impermeable barrier layer which is, in turn, surrounded by a spirally wound prefilter. A post-filter is placed centrally within the winding tube. The cartridge is designed for functional installation in a housing tube fastened and sealed to a valve plate at a first end and closed by a removable end cap at the other, second end. Feed water enters the cartridge through an inlet port in the valve plate at the first end at an outer radius to pass lengthwise in prefilter. Prefiltered water returns from the second end lengthwise through the reverse osmosis permeator to a waste-water outlet port in the valve plate at an intermediate radius. Product water which has permeated through the membrane flows inwardly through holes in the winding tube and into a clearance space surrounding the central post-filter.

Abstract: "A water purification system has a reverse osmosis filtration unit which receives feed water from a feed water valve and separates it into product water and waste water. A reservoir has a movable separator dividing it into a product water chamber for receiving the product water and a control water chamber. The product water is delivered to an outlet connection from the product water chamber or directly from the filtration unit. A regulator is connected to the waste water outlet port of the filtration unit, the control water port of the reservoir, and a drain line. The regulator has a first valve for providing waste water from the filtration unit to the control water port of the reservoir for urging the separator toward the product water chamber. The regulator has a second valve that can rapidly drain water from the control water chamber of the reservoir and rapidly reduce pressure in the control water chamber, thus facilitating the refilling of the product water chamber.

Abstract: An analog ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) circuit has a power control section, a conductivity filter testing section, a light emitting diode (LED) driving section, and a bias section. The LED driving section is responsive to the conductivity filter testing section for indicating when the filter should be replaced. The power control section, conductivity filter testing section, LED driving section, and bias section are all operated in a controlled timed relation by a digital ASIC logic system to minimize power use.

Abstract: A liquid filter apparatus, for connection to inlet and outlet piping, includes a housing which is integral with the piping and a removable integral filter unit in the housing. The integral filter unit includes bottom and top end caps with a core tube and a concentric outer tube extending between the end caps. A filter element between the core tube and the outer tube stands on ribs extending upward from the bottom end cap and is spaced from the top end cap by similar ribs extending downward from the top end cap, these ribs creating radial flow channels above and below the filter element. The filter element is a wound spiral of filter material and separator forming a plurality of axial flow channels. Some of these axial flow channels are open at the top to receive liquid from the top radial flow channel and closed at the bottom, and some of the axial channels are closed at the top and open at the bottom to discharge liquid into the bottom radial flow channel.

Abstract: An apparatus for counterbalancing the weight of the movable member in a precision instrument includes a resilient member which is coupled, by way of a non-elastic member, over an eccentric surface of a rotatable member to the movable member. Rotation of the eccentric member causes the resilient member to deform an amount proportional to the eccentricity of the member and a nearly constant counterbalancing force may be applied to the movable member.

Abstract: A photographic still camera uses a film system 10 that includes a paper backed film strip wound in a supply coil 20 with the leading end of the paper backing 12 attached to a take-up spindle 31 in a take-up container 30 that can be separated by varying distances from supply coil 20. Supply coil 20 is held between flanges 21 having outwardly extending pins 29 eccentric to the supply coil axis, and take-up container 30 has a gear 46 on its take-up spindle 31. The camera cooperating with such a film system includes a supply recess 40 and a take-up recess 60 configured for respectively receiving supply coil 20 and take-up container 30. A camera gear 47 in take-up recess 60 meshes with take-up spindle gear 46 and rotates one revolution for each film advance. Opposite sides of the supply recess have ledges 41 arranged for engaging eccentric pins 29 on supply coil flanges 21 to orient supply coil 20.

Abstract: A photographic still camera film system 10 uses a paper backed film strip 11 wound in a supply coil 20 with a leading end of the paper backing 12 attached to a take-up spindle 31 in a take-up container 30. A pair of axially interconnected end flanges 21 engage the ends of supply coil 20 with resilient material 22 carried on their inner faces. Resilient material 22 keeps the convolutions of supply coil 20 light tight. A rotatable hub supported on flanges 21 engages the inside of supply coil 20 to allow the supply coil to rotate relative to the flanges as the supply coil is unwound. The frictional engagement of resilient material 22 with the ends of supply coil 20 effectively prevents clock springing of the supply coil as it is unwound. A gear 46 arranged on take-up container 30 turns take-up spindle 31 to advance paper backed film strip 11 from supply coil 20 to take-up container 30.

Abstract: A frame-rate converting film scanner includes means for continuously advancing film at a selected frame rate and for projecting an image of the moving film onto a solid state image sensor for producing a television signal at a standard television field rate. The solid state image sensor includes: (1) a two-dimensional array of image sensing elements having a width equal to the width of the projected image of a film frame and a height equal ot the projected image of 2+X/Y film frames, where X is the projection rate of the film in frames per second and Y is the field rate of the standard video signal in fields per second, (2) a two-dimensional frame storage array, (3) an output register, and (4) a "drain gate" disposed between the image sensing array and the frame storage array and operable in a first mode to transfer signals from the image sensing array to the storage array and in a second mode to drain signals from the image sensing array.

Abstract: A film magazine contains a roll of film having an image portion and a leader. The filmstrip is perforated at predetermined intervals with larger perforations in the image portion than in the leader. A camera mechanism is disclosed which uses the perforations to advance the filmstrip, detects the size of the perforations, and meters only when a large, image portion perforation is advanced to a predetermined position in the camera.

Abstract: A self-contained video camera/recorder includes means for generating a video signal at a slow-frame rate corresponding to a submultiple of a standard television field rate. The slow-frame signal is recorded and played back at the slow-frame rate thereby reducing the bandwidth requirements of the recorder. Upon playback, the slow-frame signal is buffered, frame by frame. The buffered signal is time compressed, and each frame is repeated a number of times to yield a video signal wherein the frames occur at a standard field rate.

Abstract: Facsimile recording on a video disc, wherein a document such as a bank check is recorded as a frame of video information, generally requires that the frame of recorded information be displayed or transformed into a hard copy reproduction of the original document. In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the frame of video information is recorded on a video disc as two fields of interlaced lines recorded on adjacent circular tracks. Upon playback, the circular tracks are alternately read to produce the customary video display of two interlaced fields. To provide a hard copy reproduction of the original document, the circular tracks are simultaneously read and the resultant signal fed to a signal processing circuit. The output of the signal processing circuit comprises, in alternation, lines of video information from each field. This output signal is fed to a printer device which prints, line-by-line, a hard copy reproduction of the original document.

Abstract: In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, a source of radiation produces a pair of tracking spots focussed on a record carrier and nominally disposed toward opposite sides of a record track on the record carrier. After interaction with the record carrier, each of the tracking spots is detected to produce respective tracking signals. The components of each tracking signal which correspond to the information signal recorded on the record track are compared and a tracking error signal is produced based upon such comparison. By so producing the tracking error signal, proper tracking can be maintained irrespective of the polarity of the record carrier.

Abstract: A film magazine contains a roll of film having an image portion and a leader. The filmstrip is perforated at predetermined intervals with larger perforations in the image portion than in the leader. A camera mechanism is disclosed which uses the perforations to advance the filmstrip, detects the size of the perforations, and meters only when a large, image portion perforation is advanced to a predetermined position in the camera.