Abstract: A guide roller for aligning successive turns on a coil of a ribbon-like web. The guide roller automatically positions itself to maintain a uniform clearance space between the incoming web and the circumferential periphery of the coil. The clearance space is provided to prevent a marring of a coating on the surface of web material. As the coil radius increases during the winding process, the guide roller maintains a constant and uniform clearance space responsive to the changing angle between the incoming and outgoing web passing over the guide roller.

Abstract: A hub lock for a coil forming machine has a spindle with a shaft telescopingly mounted within a tube that is concentric thereto. A metal part somewhat in the form of a top hat is positioned over an end of the tube. A resilient elastomer block is on the crown and abutting against the brim of said top hat shape. A pressure plate on the end of the shaft squeezes the elastomeric block so that it is pressed against the interior of a hole in a wheel fitted over the block.

Abstract: A method and system for improving the signal-to-noise ratio in an automatic electro-optical reader of bar codes, wherein fluorescent ink bars arranged in coded configurations on a document are excited by a narrow band of visible radiation in the blue region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and an adjacent but not overlapping visible red region of the spectrum emanating from the ink bars is optically focused onto a light sensitive detector.