Abstract: A surgical instrument includes an elongated shaft having a distal portion and a proximal portion coupled to a housing. An inner shaft member extends at least partially through the elongated shaft and is selectively movable in a longitudinal direction. An end effector is supported by the distal portion of the elongated shaft. The end effector includes upper and lower jaw members pivotally coupled to the distal portion of the elongated shaft about a pivot axis and including a pair of laterally spaced flanges. The pairs of flanges of the jaw members are arranged in an offset configuration such that one flange of the upper jaw member is positioned on a laterally exterior side of a corresponding flange of the lower jaw member, and the other flange of the upper jaw member is positioned on a laterally interior side of the other flange of the lower jaw member.

Abstract: A surgical instrument includes an elongated shaft having a distal portion and a proximal portion coupled to a housing. An inner shaft member extends at least partially through the elongated shaft and is selectively movable in a longitudinal direction. An end effector is supported by the distal portion of the elongated shaft. The end effector includes upper and lower jaw members pivotally coupled to the distal portion of the elongated shaft about a pivot axis and including a pair of laterally spaced flanges. The pairs of flanges of the jaw members are arranged in an offset configuration such that one flange of the upper jaw member is positioned on a laterally exterior side of a corresponding flange of the lower jaw member, and the other flange of the upper jaw member is positioned on a laterally interior side of the other flange of the lower jaw member.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for providing a low cost source of mortgage funding to sub-prime borrowers which reduces the desire of quality sub-prime borrowers to leave the mortgage pool. A lender may receive an amount of money from a financial institution in the form of a borrowing instrument. A lender may deliver an amount of money in the form of a collateralization loan to a housing agency. Housing agency may invest loan in one or more financial products, such as lender underwritten insurance policies. Housing agency may deliver individual mortgage loan recommendations to lender. Lender may borrow funds used in the collateralization loan by selling the interest bearing borrowing instrument to a financial institution. Lender may also sell individual mortgage loans to one or more government sponsored entities. From these financial products, borrowing instruments, and individual mortgages, mortgage funding may be provided to sub-prime borrowers.

Abstract: A hardware assembly is provided for cabinet sliding doors as are used with entertainment centers. The hardware assembly includes a u-shaped spacer which is attached to a slotted plate in selective fashion to provide infinite relative positioning. The hardware assembly can be quickly installed and adjusted by inexperienced personnel which is useful in finishing the cabinet and thereafter, daily usage.

Abstract: A hardware assembly is provided for cabinet sliding doors as are used with entertainment centers. The hardware assembly includes a u-shaped spacer which is attached to a slotted plate in selective fashion to provide infinite relative positioning. The hardware assembly can be quickly installed and adjusted by inexperienced personnel which is useful in finishing the cabinet and thereafter, daily usage.

Abstract: A hardware assembly is provided for cabinet sliding doors as are used with entertainment centers. The hardware assembly includes a u-shaped spacer which is attached to a slotted plate in selective fashion to provide infinite relative positioning. The hardware assembly can be quickly installed and adjusted by inexperienced personnel which is useful in finishing the cabinet and thereafter, daily usage.

Abstract: An insulation support pin extender is disclosed for engaging insulation batts of thickness greater than can be accommodated by known support pins. The extender comprises a tubular oval shank adapted to encompass the tine of a mounted support pin, the extender including a projecting shaft defining an extension of the shank. The shaft includes a rib to render same resistant to bending, except at positions in registry with paired recesses formed at the sides of the shaft.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of forming air turning assemblies is disclosed along with a novel vane supporting rail structure for use therewith. The apparatus holds a pair of rails in spaced parallel relation at a clinching station at which the edges of a vane may be engaged in opposed slotted protuberances in the rails. The spacing of the rails may be increased at the station against a yieldable biasing force, the station including a deforming mechanism for deflecting the vane edges to lock the vanes to the rails. The rails include cam surfaces leading to the vane receiving slots and blocking walls at the trailing ends of the slots to facilitate introducing the vane edges into the slots.

Abstract: An article of manufacture comprises an elongate strip or reel of separable metallic segments having pressure sensitive backing tape secured thereto. The segments include a cutout defining an elongate tine bendable to right angles to the main body portion of the segment. The tines include a longitudinally directed reenforcing rib, the side edges of the tine and the rib being formed with aligned notches enabling the fine to be bent at right angles in registry with the notches. A washer is provided which may be sleeved over the tine, the washer including an aperture configured such that when the washer is mounted over the tine and rotated, the washer will be locked to the tine.

Abstract: A portable apparatus for forming an air turning assembly comprises upper and lower rail retaining tracks which are yieldably biased toward each other. Vane distorting chisels are mounted in spaced relation below the lower track and a staking assembly, movable longitudinally so as to sequentially register with the chisels, is mounted above the upper track. The staking assembly is shiftable toward the fixed chisels beneath the lower track whereby edges of a vane temporarily mounted between the rails may be staked in a single operation to both rails, downward movement of the staking chisels being effected to deform portions of the vane above the upper rail, such downward movement also functioning bodily to shift the rails and vane downwardly, such the portions of the vane below the lower rail are deformed by the chisels below the lower rail.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of forming air turning assemblies is disclosed along with a novel vane supporting rail structure for use therewith. The apparatus holds a pair of rails in spaced parallel relation at a clinching station at which the edges of a vane may be engaged in opposed slotted protuberances in the rails. The spacing of the rails may be increased at the station against a yieldable biasing force, the station including a deforming mechanism for deflecting the vane edges to lock the vanes to the rails. The rails include cam surfaces leading to the vane receiving slots and blocking walls at the trailing ends of the slots to facilitate introducing the vane edges into the slots.

Abstract: Disclosed is a device for applying tension to the free ends of a curtain track draw cord that is looped about a pulley at one end of the track. The device consists of a first member containing two parallel channels to acept the free ends of the draw cord and second member, attached to a second pulley block at the opposite end of the curtain track, to which the first member is secured to trap the cords therebetween. The second member contains tubular passageways opposite and perpendicular to the channels in the first member in which are contained coil springs, ball bearings are located between the springs and the draw cords cause the cords to frictionally engage the walls of the channels and maintain tension in the cords lying within the curtain track.

Abstract: Unmilled commercially available granular "natural" soda ash is reacted with orthophosphoric acid to produce a highly concentrated slurry at a molar Na:P ratio of about 1.5 in a continuous process. Problems associated with incomplete reaction are solved and the slurry can be dried to the double salt Na.sub.3 H.sub.3 (PO.sub.4).sub.2 or reacted with aqueous sodium hydroxide to produce a superior precursor for manufacturing sodium tripolyphosphate.

Abstract: Unmilled commercially available granular "natural" soda ash is reacted with orthophosphoric acid to produce a highly concentrated slurry at a molar Na:P ratio of about 1.5 in a continuous process. Problems associated with incomplete reaction are solved and the slurry can be dried to the double salt Na.sub.3 H.sub.3 (PO.sub.4).sub.2 or reacted with aqueous sodium hydroxide to produce a superior precursor for manufacturing sodium tripolyphosphate.

Abstract: A multi-purpose hand tool applicator is provided for applying coating material to a surface. The tool comprises an elongated handle having a blade-receiving slot longitudinally disposed therein for detachably receiving one of a plurality of applicator blades each having a male portion for insertion into the handle and an applicator portion opposite the male portion, the handle having means for detachably holding the blade against dislodgement during use.

Abstract: The invention contemplates a powder-feeding system for gas-propelled delivery of a powder to be controllably supplied, as to a flame-spraying gas torch or to a transferred-arc plasma torch. A fluidizing chamber receives (a) fluidizing-gas flow from below a porous screen, and (b) a restricted gravitational flow of powder at a relatively small central discharge location above the porous screen. A gas conduit extends transversely through the chamber between the powder-discharge location and the porous screen; it has a carrier-gas supply connection at one end and a gas-propelled powder-delivery connection at its other end. The conduit also has an upwardly extending opening virtually beneath and facing the powder-discharge location, but a shed interposed between this opening and the powder-discharge location sufficiently overlaps the opening to assure that no powder will pass through the opening and into the conduit unless it has been gas-fluidized.

Abstract: The invention contemplates a powder-feeding system for gas-propelled delivery of a powder to be controllably supplied, as to a flame-spraying gas torch or to a transferred-arc plasma torch. A fluidizing chamber receives (a) fluidizing-gas flow from below a porous screen, and (b) a restricted gravitational flow of powder at a relatively small central discharge location above the porous screen. A gas conduit extends transversely through the chamber between the powder-discharge location and the porous screen; it has a carrier-gas supply connection at one end and a gas-propelled powder-delivery connection at its other end. The conduit also has an upwardly extending opening virtually beneath and facing the powder-discharge location, but a shed interposed between this opening and the powder-discharge location sufficiently overlaps the opening to assure that no powder will pass through the opening and into the conduit unless it has been gas-fluidized.

Abstract: The method of the invention employs a gas torch which has the feature of selective addition of metal powder to the gas flow, in a cyclical pattern of metal-spraying and non-spraying (fusing) utilization of the same torch. The torch is caused to make short and relatively rapid transverse oscillations of sweep across the width of a swath along the workpiece, the swath developing in the course of a relatively slow feed (e.g., a longitudinal feed) of the torch with respect to the workpiece. The rate of torch feed and the duty cycle of metal application (vs. non-spraying) are related to the effective width of the metal "bead" thus sprayed, so as to assure (1) overlapping of adjacent beads and (2) fusing of adjacent beads to each other and to the workpiece.

Abstract: The apparatus of the invention employs a gas torch which has the feature of selective addition of metal powder to the gas flow. In use, the torch is caused to make a continuous succession of traverses of a workpiece region for preheating purposes and then, without interrupting the continuous operation of either the torch or the traversing cycles, a controlled flow of metal powder is caused to enter the torch flow, enabling the bonding and progressive building of a metal coat to desired thickness. In the embodiments described, first and second different metal powders are thus successively coated to the substrate without interrupting the continuous operation. Different embodiments are described in the particular context of applying uniform circumferential coatings to a cylindrical workpiece such as a shaft.

Abstract: The apparatus and method of the invention employ a gas torch which has the feature of selective addition of metal powder to the gas flow, in a cyclical pattern of metal-spraying and non-spraying (fusing) utilization of the same torch. The torch is caused to make short and relatively rapid transverse oscillations of sweep across the width of a swath along the workpiece, the swath developing in the course of a relatively slow feed (e.g., a longitudinal feed) of the torch with respect to the workpiece. The rate of torch feed and the duty cycle of metal application (vs. non-spraying) are related to the effective width of the metal "bead" thus sprayed, so as to assure (1) overlapping of adjacent beads and (2) fusing of adjacent beads to each other and to the workpiece.