Abstract: A thermoplastic container for food or other articles is set forth. The container includes a base having a bottom, a pair of opposing side walls and a pair of opposing end walls extending upwardly from the bottom. A pair of integral handle segments are formed with the outer rim of the base and rotatably attached to anchoring portions at integral hinges. The handle segments can be releasably engaged with each other and include a pair of hinged portions. Each hinged portion has at least one upwardly extending rib segment and at least one downwardly extending rib segment interconnected by integral hinges that form definite bending points for the hinged portions of the handle segments so that when the handle segments are upturned, the hinged portion assists in distributing stress and obtaining a proper balance of the container.

Abstract: A thermoplastic container for food or other articles is set forth. The container includes a base having a bottom, a pair of opposing side walls and a pair of opposing end walls extending upwardly from the bottom. A pair of integral handle segments are formed with the outer rim of the base and rotatably attached to anchoring portions at integral hinges. The handle segments can be releasably engaged with each other and include a pair of hinged portions. Each hinged portion has at least one upwardly extending rib segment and at least one downwardly extending rib segment interconnected by integral hinges that form definite bending points for the hinged portions of the handle segments so that when the handle segments are upturned, the hinged portion assists in distributing stress and obtaining a proper balance of the container.

Abstract: A position detection method and apparatus is disclosed which utilizes an electromagnetic probe as the control element in a relaxation oscillator circuit. The probe is energized by a pulse voltage waveform and the decay time of the induced transient probe voltage is utilized to modulate the frequency of the pulse generator. The probe transient voltage decay time is influenced by the proximity of an electrically conductive or magnetic object. Therefore, a frequency output is generated which indicates the position of the conductive or magnetic object.

Abstract: An improved oscillator circuit and method for measuring capacitance and small changes in capacitance is described. The circuit provides a digital output signal that has a frequency inversely proportional to the capacitance being measured, is substantially immune to stray capacitance, has low sensitivity to noise and temperature variations, is relatively simple and inexpensive to implement and provides a high precision measurement. One embodiment of the oscillator includes a capacitor to be measured, an integrator, an inverting amplifier, a comparator, a summing amplifier and a digital output circuit. A second embodiment of the oscillator further provides compensation for the non-linear response of a parallel plate capacitive transducer.

Abstract: An improved oscillator circuit and method for measuring capacitance and small changes in capacitance is described. The circuit provides a digital output signal that has a frequency inversely proportional to the capacitance being measured, is substantially immune to stray capacitance, has low sensitivity to noise and temperature variations, is relatively simple and inexpensive to implement and provides a high precision measurement. One embodiment of the oscillator includes a capacitor to be measured, an integrator, a comparator, a resistive attenuator, a summing amplifier and a digital output circuit. A second embodiment of the oscillator further provides compensation for the non-linear response of a parallel plate capacitive transducer.