Abstract: Disclosed are systems and apparatus adapted to control a temperature of a process fluid in an instrument. In one aspect, the systems and apparatus are adapted to control fluid temperature provided to a feed tank. The feed tank may feed a metering system and metering line of an instrument such as a clinical analyzer. The fluid temperature control system includes a process fluid inflow, a process fluid outflow, a first fluid path fluidly coupled to the process fluid inflow and outflow, and at least one heat exchanger thermally coupled to the first fluid path, wherein the heat exchanger is adapted to extract heat for at least one heat-generating component of the instrument. Controlling a temperature of the process fluid at the feed tank improves metering accuracy. Methods of operating the system are provided, as are other aspects.

Abstract: Disclosed are systems and apparatus adapted to control a temperature of a process fluid in an instrument. In one aspect, the systems and apparatus are adapted to control fluid temperature provided to a feed tank. The feed tank may feed a metering system and metering line of an instrument such as a clinical analyzer. The fluid temperature control system includes a process fluid inflow, a process fluid outflow, a first fluid path fluidly coupled to the process fluid inflow and outflow, and at least one heat exchanger thermally coupled to the first fluid path, wherein the heat exchanger is adapted to extract heat for at least one heat-generating component of the instrument. Controlling a temperature of the process fluid at the feed tank improves metering accuracy. Methods of operating the system are provided, as are other aspects.

Abstract: The invention provides conductive concrete suitable for commercial and large-scale production. The conductive concrete uses carbonaceous particles as conductive phase, to achieve concrete with resistivities as low as 2 &OHgr;cm and compressive strengths over 30 Mpa (both measured at 28 days).

Abstract: An improved driver's safety restraint utilizes an upwardly open channel formed on the forehead portion of the driver's helmet a strap insertable into the channel and slidable longitudinally in the channel to permit free rotation of the driver's head. The ends of the strap are provided with deformable, substantially non-resilient anchoring rings.

Abstract: The invention provides conductive concrete suitable for commercial and large-scale production. The conductive concrete uses carbonaceous particles as conductive phase, to achieve concrete with resistivities as low as 2 &OHgr;cm and compressive strengths over 30 Mpa (both measured at 28 days).

Abstract: An apparatus for assembling a fiberglass reinforced grating from preformed bearing bars and cross bars includes an elongated open frame table having a plurality of rollers in side-by-side fashion with their axes transverse to the longitudinal axis of the table and supporting a set of upwardly upright transversely spaced bearing bars on the peripheries of the rollers. A loading rack formed of vertically upright transversely spaced spacing and alignment pins controls the lateral spacing of the bearing bars. A raisable stop upstream of a grooving station aligns the ends of the bearing bars. A vertically shiftable hold press hold down bar operates alternately with a vertically shiftable car press hold down bar and the car press is incremented which frictionally presses the bearing bars against the tabletop rollers to increment the set of bearing bars upon release of the hold press hold down bar.

Abstract: A phosphorescent fiber reinforced plastic article comprising a fabric carrying a phosphorescent material encapsulated on a surface of a cured fiber reinforced plastic material made by a variety of processes including, but not limited to, pultrusion, compression molding, filament winding, contact molding, resin transfer molding, a continuous panel process, or structural reaction injection molding.

Abstract: A phosphorescent fiber reinforced plastic article comprising a fabric carrying a phosphorescent material encapsulated on a surface of a cured fiber reinforced plastic material made by a variety of processes including, but not limited to, pultrusion, compression molding, filament winding, contact molding, resin transfer molding, a continuous panel process, or structural reaction injection molding.

Abstract: A weaving machine alternately lays catalyzed resin wetted fiberglass strands within respective right angle sets of uniformly spaced, open-ended intersecting slots within the upper face of a weaving form by driving reciprocating carriages mounted on rails via rotating wheels across the top of the form bearing said right angle sets of uniformly spaced, open-ended slots. A horizontal base plate supports hydraulic cylinders whose projectable and retractable piston rods suspend a running bar having horizontal apertures through which the fiberglass strands pass. After passage across the form, the running bar is dropped to force the wetted strands into aligned slots. Detents engage the strands at each side of the open slots. A hydraulic rotary motor has a rotary drive shaft in the form of a horizontal threaded rod passing through and engaging the threads of a horizontal tapped bore of a nut fixed to the carriage base plate. The hydraulic motor is rotated bidirectionally to reciprocate the carriages across the form.

Abstract: A compression molded fiberglass reinforced resin grating formed of laterally spaced intersecting load bearing bars and cross bars is partially embedded within a layer of sand overlying the floor material of an animal stall defined by a vertical wall enclosure. At least the load bearing bars of the grating have flat top and bottom surfaces with opposite oblique sidewalls which taper towards each other from the bottom to the top. When embedded in the sand with the flat top surfaces exposed, the tapered load bearing bars resist downward movement into the sand layer due to the wider flat bottoms of the load bearing bars. Sand captured between opposed oppositely oblique walls of adjacent load bearing bars is solidly packed therebetween forming with the load bearing bars and the cross bars a solid mass to further resist downward movement, while permitting drainage of liquid waste therethrough. Soiled bedding may be removed from the top of the embedded grating by shoveling.

Abstract: A tensioned grating fastener that includes a deep draft saddle clip of U-shaped configuration that is engagable with a pair of load-support bars of a criss-cross configurated grating, an elongated foot that is provided with a vertical upstanding headed stud which projects through a hole of the saddle clip and a coil spring that is concentrically mounted under slight compression about the stud between the head of the stud and the base of the saddle clip. The depression of the headed stud compresses the coil spring and permits the foot to be rotated from a position in alignment with the saddle clip to a position at an oblique angle thereto, such that one end of the foot is beneath and in engagement with a flange of an underlying grating support member, and the opposite end, beneath and in engagement with one parallel load-supporting bars of the grating.

Abstract: The headed end of a wrench body of elongated rectangular form includes a first stationary jaw defining a first gripping surface. A slide mount foot projects from the body opposite the stationary jaw, and is spaced therefrom. It includes a flat bearing surface. A slidable jaw shoe mounts on the foot, and is slidable towards and away from the wrench body headed end. The shoe has a bite portion forming a second gripping surface which extends parallel to the stationary jaw first gripping surface and faces the same. A straight wire spring has one end fixed within a V-shaped groove which diverges from the stationary jaw within the side of the wrench body towards the foot with the straight wire spring having a free end fitting with an oblique slot within a sliding jaw shoe, permitting the slidable jaw shoe to move in opposition to the bias to ratchet the wrench about a nut or bolt head captured between the first and second gripping surfaces when rotating the wrench body in a first direction.

Abstract: A fiberglass reinforced molded resin grating is formed of first and second sets of mutually parallel, interlocking fiberglass reinforced molded resin bars with the sets extending transversely to one another. One set consists of bearing bars of rectangular cross section including at longitudinally spaced positions within an upper edge, inverted U-shaped notches including oppositely directed, downwardly and outwardly oblique slots terminating at their upper ends adjacent the upper edge of the bearing bars in upwardly and outwardly diverging oblique cam surfaces. The second set of bars consist of cross bars of inverted U-shaped cross section including a horizontal base portion and a pair of downwardly and outwardly diverging legs of a thickness equal to the width of the diverging slots and being respectively received in said slots.

Abstract: A fluorophotometer for determining the concentration of a fluorescent material in an eye, including a light source producing a beam of light traversing a path in the eye to excite the material to emit fluorescence, optics for imaging the path and fluorescence at a detecting plane, a linear photodiode array at the detecting plane for detecting the fluorescence along the path, and a microprocessor for collecting data from the array and producing information of the concentration of the fluorescent material.

Abstract: Information is stored, using a relatively low-power light beam, by redistributing the material in a deformable film. In a disc configuration, positioning of the light beam is achieved by referencing to a previously recorded track. In a document storage and retrieval system the document is scanned with the resultant scanned signal modulating the writing light beam producing a recorded track. This track is optically read with the resultant signal applied to a printer. For optimum utilization of the area, the recording and readout take place at constant velocity.

Abstract: A flush control mechanism for a toilet tank includes a pivotable control element which is pivotable about a generally horizontal axis in the tank, a trip lever mechanism, a fill water valve element which is connected to both the pivotable control element and the main water supply pipe which extends into the toilet tank, and an adjustable valve element. The pivotable control element includes a weightbox which is divided by a baffle into a water inlet chamber and a water outlet chamber, the floor of the weightbox including a drain hole which communicates with the water outlet chamber. The fill water valve element includes a primary nozzle for discharging fresh water directly into the toilet tank and a secondary nozzle for discharging fresh water into the water inlet chamber of the pivotable control valve element, as well as a control arm which is connected to the end of the pivotable control valve element.

Abstract: Metal shims are positioned within intersecting slots of a lower mold member, normally employed in the molding of an open grid fiberglass reinforced molded resin grating with the shims being of a height less than the vertical height of the slots. The grating is repositioned in the slots such that the upper ends of the grating bars project above the upper surface of the lower mold member. The upper mold member bearing projecting grids corresponding to the slots is covered with a solid checker plate. An impregnated glass sheet formed of the same molding compound as the open grid molded resin grating is interposed between the checker plate and the grating. A further shim defining the extent of compression of the molding compound sheet is interposed between the lower mold member and the checker plate.

Abstract: A color image is recorded on film at the television field rate with alternate film frames representing the luminance and chrominance information. The chrominance information is encoded by filtering the color image through a striped color filter. On playback two line scanners are used to simultaneously scan the luminance and chrominance frames to provide the desired information simultaneously. A decoding signal is used to decode the encoded chrominance information and derive color-difference signals.