Abstract: A seat assembly in which a seat is mounted on a vibration damping mounting including a variable rate spring in the form of a fluid filled and pressurized pouch disposed between two rigid members capable of relative rotation, vertical movements of the seat which result in relative rotation of the two rigid members towards each other being arranged to compress the pouch and increase the area of contact of the pouch with the rigid members.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for packaging of ground coffee or a like material are provided in which an inert gas such as carbon dioxide is supplied to surround discrete quantities of the material carried in a longitudinally moving folded trough-like web of impervious material, the gas being supplied into a region in which the discrete quantities of material enter a sealing region in which portions of the folded web are sealed together ahead of, above and behind the discrete quantity of material. Important features relate to the covering over of the folded web to enclose a space therein as it enters the sealing region, to the guiding of the edges of the web to cause them to converge as they approach the sealing region and to the injection of the gas at an angle and with a flow rate and velocity such as to cause the gas to completely surround the material without displacing the material relative to the web.

Abstract: A machine for handling large crop masses and the like is presented which permits completely automatic processing of these masses and requires only a single operator to effectively manipulate the machine to perform this function. A tiltable bed having a fore-and-aft conveyor is arranged behind a bank of shredding rolls for engaging ground-supported crop masses, loading the latter to a horizontally support position and then feeding the same horizontally into the rolls. Swingable structure is provided between the rolls and the bed for positive feeding of remnant portions of the masses presented at the end of the feeding cycle. The bed and the processor are releasably connected such that they effectively cooperate as a single machine, yet at the same time may be used individually to perform other unrelated farm tasks.

Abstract: If the next charge to be stuffed into the baling chamber has not yet reached the desired size and density by the time the stuffing fork and compacting plunger are ready to begin their next operating cycles, the plunger and the fork are temporarily deactivated until the charge reaches full size and density. Thereupon, the fork stuffs the entire charge into the baling chamber in a single cycle of operation for compaction by the plunger. The baler is loaded from the bottom of the baling chamber through an upwardly curved duct that serves both as an accumulating chamber and as a pre-compression area into which the charge is progressively packed by a rotating, retractable finger drum at the lower end of the duct. Actuation of the plunger and stuffing fork occurs automatically in response to obtaining the predetermined density of the accumulated charge as sensed by a pressure-sensitive device located at the lower end of the loading duct slightly downstream from the packing drum.

Abstract: The cutting cylinder of a forage harvester has helically oriented knives which may be sharpened by shifting a spinning grinding stone back and forth across the housing for the cylinder in parallel relationship with the axis of rotation of the cylinder. Opposed sets of roller guides which move with the stone in its straight line reciprocation trap the blade being sharpened and force the cylinder to rotate to such an extent and in such a direction as to continuously maintain the bevel on the knife engaged with the stone, thereby compensating for the helical orientation of the knife. One set of roller guides rides along the normally leading edge of the knife being sharpened, while the other set of opposed roller guides rides along the outer surface of the knife being sharpened.

Abstract: A foamed or aerated explosive composition containing a water-soluble organic nitrate sensitizer is provided which retains sensitivity for long periods in small diameter cartridges. The dissipation or migration of entrained air or gas in the composition is substantially prevented by incorporating a blend of a foaming surfactant and a stabilizing surfactant in chosen proportions.

Abstract: A fire protection apparatus, particularly for liquid fuel containers which are carried in aircraft or other vehicles, comprises a pressure transducer for producing an electrical output upon sensing a pressure change of predetermined magnitude in a liquid, a source of fire extinguishant, an actuator for discharging the fire extinguishant from the source of fire extinguishant, and a self-energized repeater adapted to respond to the output of the pressure transducer and to generate a signal for operating the actuator to discharge fire extinguishant from the source.

Abstract: A single side-band electrical information-transmission system is described in which the correct oscillator frequency for demodulation in the receiver is achieved by attenuating a narrow band of audio frequencies in the transmitter and automatically correcting demodulation in the receiver in accordance with the position in the frequency spectrum of this band after demodulation. Attenuation in the transmitter is carried out by a band-stop filter, and the receiver usually includes two band-pass filters, connected in parallel following the demodulator. The output from the filters is individually rectified, summed, and smoothed before being used as an automatic frequency control signal to correct the frequency of the oscillator coupled to the demodulator.