Abstract: A weight belt for maintaining the vertical orientation of a fish which has been rapidly taken from a significant depth and placed in shallow water without time to adjust the amount of air in its air bladder. The belt is placed around the fish between the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins, and has weights at the underside of the fish to maintain its vertical orientation by gravity.

Abstract: A weight belt for maintaining the vertical orientation of a fish which has been rapidly taken from a significant depth and placed in shallow water without time to adjust the amount of air in its air bladder. The belt is placed around the fish between the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins, and has weights at the underside of the fish to maintain its vertical orientation by gravity.

Abstract: Electromagnetic field pulses are induced in an electrically conductive/magnetically permeable housing and valving element movable within the housing of a check valve by an energizing coil placed against the housing and forming a loop extending substantially over the full range of travel of the valving element. At least two sensing coils positioned within the loop of the energizing coil proximate the two ends of the range of travel of the valving element, and preferably an array including additional sensing coils spaced between the two end coils, detect transient responses to the induced pulses from which the position of the valving element is determined.

Abstract: Integrated check valve testing system includes a method and apparatus for non-intrusively testing a check valve which includes using an ultrasonic transducer externally connected to the check valve to direct ultrasonic sound waves through the check valve casting and through the transported fluid to the check valve disk to then detect the ultrasonic sound waves reflected off of the check valve disk. An ultrasonic controller controls the ultrasonic transducer and generates location signals based on the amount of time between each direction of an ultrasonic sound wave and the resulting reception of a reflected ultrasonic sound wave. A system controller analyzes the movement of the check valve disk and calculates certain test data which is compared to previously obtained baseline data. The preferred embodiment of the present invention also includes using two accelerometers externally connected to the check valve to monitor acoustic emissions generated by the check valve.

Abstract: A hitch for use in coupling a trailer to a towing vehicle characterized by a housing having bottom and top plates disposed in mutually spaced parallelism and a pair of converging side walls defining on opposite sides of the housing a first and a second throat disposed in coaxial alignment, said first throat being of a width dimension less than the width dimension of the second throat, an extensible link comprising a coupling arm seated between said plates having a width dimension slightly less than the width dimension of the first throat and projected from the second throat, a slot of a keyhole configuration comprising an elongated segment terminating in a bore, a retainer pin normally related to the plates and extended through the slot supporting the link for displacement to a retracted position wherein said link is extended through the first throat, and a cylindrical interlocking bolt integrally related to the retainer pin and configured to be inserted into the bore when the link is displaced to its retract