Abstract: An assembly for lowering a person to safety from a building under a descent operation that is controlled by the person without requiring such person to manipulate a hand operated device, such as a lever. The assembly includes a rope which is connected to a storage drum via guide rollers and which passes through a gap defined by a cam element. The cam element is biased to rotate, and when in a first position jams the rope element against further movement off of the storage drum. The cam element automatically moves into the first position and is moved out of that position when the person jumps upwardly.

Abstract: An automatic stacking machine for stacking curved articles and placing them on a pallet. Individual articles are guided to a position between two vertical locating plates on top of a catch plate. Once positioned, the catch plate is removed so that the article drops onto one or more horizontal arms. A stack is formed on the horizontal arms in this manner, and the arms can be lowered to place the stack on transport plates. The transport plates hold a stack between two additional vertical plates, one of which rotates to a horizontal position to allow the plate to be pushed, while supported by the other plate, onto a waiting pallet. The pallet is mounted on a pallet frame which can be coupled to other pallet frames and is raised on a rising and lowering platform to be adjacent the stacking machine for loading.

Abstract: A protection subroutine with a unique reference code is emplaced in a protected software package. The package also contains a validation program. The protection subroutine and validation program connect with an ESD and both the ESD and the program communicate with a secure computer. Upon receipt of inputs of the software serial number and reference code and the ESD identifier, the computer generates a validation code which causes the protection subroutine to command execution of the protected software by its hose computer.