Abstract: Devices, systems and/or methods for repairing soft tissue adjacent a repair site. In one embodiment, a repair device is delivered with a delivery device system configured to move a cartridge with the repair device disposed therein toward an anvil with soft tissue positioned thereon. The delivery device linearly moves the cartridge toward the anvil with a worm drive positioned within a housing by rotating a thumb wheel disposed around the worm drive. Such linear movement is provided with a finger element extending from the worm drive that is configured to cooperate with an internal surface of the thumb wheel. With this arrangement, upon rotating the thumb wheel, the worm drive rotates with the finger element engaged with the internal surface of the thumb wheel to linearly move the cartridge toward the anvil.

Abstract: Devices, systems and/or methods for repairing soft tissue adjacent a repair site. In one embodiment, a repair device includes a plate member and an anchor. The plate member having a periphery, the plate member configured to be positioned along an outer surface of the soft tissue. The anchor includes a base and six legs extending from the base, the six legs extending from the base being moveable to a curled configuration such that the six legs wrap around separate portions of the periphery of the plate member with the soft tissue therebetween. In this manner, the repair device may be anchored to the soft tissue.

Abstract: A valve stem stress measuring instrument is provided for measuring axial thrust developed on a valve operating system. In a quarter turn valve, or a butterfly, a valve stem stress instrument comprises a pair of load sensing assemblies which are disposed on either end of the valve housing. One load sensing assembly is attached to the stop nut end of the valve housing and a second load sensing assembly is installed on the drive end portion of the housing. Load cells are disposed between the worm shaft and a fixed engagement area rigidly attached to the worm shaft housing. With the worm shaft captured between each of the load sensing assemblies, reaction thrust or stem stress can be determined on the shaft in both the open and closed positions. After calibration, the present invention provides means for determining stem torsional stress values for a butterfly valve over its full stroke, such that the valve can be tested under actual operating conditions.

Abstract: A collet for an automatic bar feed machine tool having an outer sleeve 20 and an inner sleeve 21 reciprocable in the outer sleeve, a spring 26 to bias the inner sleeve 21 away from the gripping region 28 of the outer sleeve. Bar stock 33 is gripped in the collet by the outer sleeve end 22 acting on the end 29 of the inner sleeve, the bar being fed through the collet and short ends 36 falling away from the collet during feeding so that bar can be continuously fed through the collet without having to stop the machine to remove short ends.

Abstract: The particular machine described has a series of main collets mounted in an indexable drum, each main collet having an associated reciprocable feed tube carrying at its rear end a one-way feed collet employing wedging elements in the form of spring-loaded balls carried in inclined bores of the feed collet body, the feed tubes and feed collets being indexed with the main collets and with a reel-type bar holder. When the collets are arranged to feed non-round bar stock each feed collet is keyed to its associated main collet to enable non-rotating bar stock to be introduced into a rotating feed collet from the bar holder, to be rotated by the feed collet, and then fed through the main collet without stopping the main collet. An axially movable and retractable stop is provided at the feeding station to ensure that an adequate length of bar stock is gripped by a main collet during subsequent machining.