Abstract: Recently proposed computer compatible numerals are used in this invention. Their use permits a photoreader for reading the code column of coding sheets to be built for $25.00. The particular numerals used are composed of line elements drawn from a master numeral comprising the three sides of an isosceles triangle plus the altitude dropped to the base. The four elements form a hexadecimal numeral. These numerals appear in pairs in the code column. A pair of indicia appear next each pair of numerals. A scanner having seven photoelectric sensors scans the column from top to bottom, sensing (1) which elements are present and (2) which indicium is present. A processor uses this information to develop a respective 8-bit computer word for each pair of numerals scanned. The system is adaptable for reading other types of input. An equivalent system may be used to read rows of computer compatible characters consisting of eight or ten elements each.

Abstract: A computer compatible master character consisting of a common dot and eight equally spaced arms extending from it is provided. Individual characters are made up of subsets of these eight arms. This system provides a total of 255 characters. Each arm corresponds to a respective bit of a computer word. Numerals constitute a subset of the character set. The master numeral has four arms--each at 45.degree. to the horizontal. This configuration for the master numeral permits a very simple photoreader to be used. Initial use was in reading the code column of a coding sheet for an 8-bit computer.

Abstract: Rubberized V-belts used in early friction drives suffered from excessive losses and short wear life. Chains composed of links and pins used in later drives generate excessive noise and develop maldistribution of stress among the several links. The present invention overcomes these shortcomings by providing a belt having a cable along each edge and spacers for holding the two cables apart. The cables form the "rails of a ladder". The spacers form the "rungs"--but are much closer together. The cables carry the circumferential load. The spacers carry the axial load developed by the sheaves on the cables.

Abstract: A system for replacing the newspaper. A radio transmitter transmits the news as "pages" of code. The transmission is received in the home and the encoded pages stored in computer memory. The user selects pages from this memory for viewing on a monitor. That which is new is the storage of the entire news of a moment in mass memory in the home, permitting the user to select directly from this memory the material which he desires to read.

Abstract: A conventional fiber optic solar collector employs a matrix of lenses mounted in an enclosure similar to that of a conventional flat plate collector. Each lens focuses a solar image upon the open end of a respective optical fiber. The fibers are bundled together and led to a using device. In this conventional system the entire enclosure is rotated to face the sun. The present invention permits this enclosure to be mounted in fixed position facing the southern sky. As the sun traverses the sky, a pattern of solar images sweeps across the focal plane of the lenses. A plate is placed in this focal plane and the optical fibers mounted in it so that their open ends form a similar pattern. The plate is then moved to cause the solar images to fall on their respective optical fibers.In a significant improvement, a second plate is mounted behind the first. Fibers pass through holes in this second plate.

Abstract: U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,431 discloses a combinational keyboard in which keys are operated in combinations much as a piano is played. A combination being those keys which are depressed between two periods in which no keys are depressed. Each combination generates a coded character. The present invention covers a modification of this keyboard system in which the character keyed depends upon the sequence in which the keys of the combination are operated as well as upon the combination itself. The preferred system permits the character set of a six-key one-handed keyboard to be expanded to 198 characters. Cost of the keyboard--about sixty grams of silver.

Abstract: A mosaic of lenses is oriented to face the sun. Each lens focuses a solar image upon the open end of a respective optical fiber. The several fibers converge to form a bundle. The bundle passes to a receiver generally inside a building. The radiation delivered by the bundle may be used for cooking, lighting, operation of a thermodynamic engine, or other similar application. In the preferred system the lens mosaic is a plastic sheet into which lenses have been molded. In a first auxiliary system the lens mosaic is formed on the front surface of a transparent plate. Solar images are formed on the rear surface. Optical fibers are attached where these solar images are formed. This eliminates two reflecting surfaces, thereby increasing efficiency by 19%. In a second auxiliary system mass of the plate is reduced by using truncated cones to transmit the radiation to the solar image positions.

Abstract: V-belts and conical sheaves have long been used in variable ratio friction drive systems. In higher power applications the belts are replaced by metal chains carrying pins which lock to the sheaves. The latter systems are generally 90% efficient. The main loss is associated with the engagement and disengagement of the pins with the sheaves. Each pin slides radially along the sheave as it wedges into place. The loss is considerable because contact is along a line from which lubricant is extruded rather than over an area on which lubricant is present. To avoid this loss the present invention provides a shoe appended to the end of each pin. Coupling between shoe and pin is such that the shoe is permitted to slide relative to the pin in a direction radial to the sheave. It is prevented from sliding relative to the pin in a direction circumferential to the sheave.

Abstract: A "Binary Compatible Character" consisting of nine straight line segments and a dot is provided. Subsets of the ten elements of the character form digits of the base-16 numbering system, letters of several alphabets, punctuation marks, mathematical operators, and phonemes. The invention covers simplified apparatus for reading the characters and forming the characters. A ten key keyboard incorporating parity check, a ten hammer composite printing head, and a ten photodetector reading head are prime elements of the invention. The combination of printer, printed matter, and reader constitute a data storage system for which the data may be most easily edited by a human using only an eraser and pencil.

Abstract: Combinational keyboards generally have 10 keys positioned to fall naturally under the fingertips of the two hands when the hands are in operating position. The present invention provides a keyboard with movable keys in order to accommodate the hand configurations of various operators. Combinational keyboards are generally arranged so that mathematics may be performed by the right hand only. An expanded one-handed character set results if the two thumb keys are placed adjacent each other so that the right thumb can operate both. This desirable feature is attained by (1) making the left thumb key sufficiently movable that it may be positioned adjacent the right thumb key, or (2) positioning the left hand keys so that the thumb keys are adjacent, or (3) providing an additional key operable by the right thumb.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system whereby electronic digital clocks may announce the exact time every ten minutes. The hour is announced by a sequence of four tones. Each tone in the sequence is high if the corresponding bit of a binary numbering system representation of the hour digit is high. The tone is low otherwise. The tens of minutes digit is announced in similar manner, except that only three tones are required in the sequence. The system may be used to announce numbers emanating from computers or other electronic digital devices.