Abstract: A hydraulic bottle jack has a housing with an internal control valve having an external shaft that is rotatable in the counter-clockwise direction to open the valve for lowering the jack, and rotatable in the clockwise direction to close the valve for raising the jack. A control knob is mounted on the rotatable shaft for manually rotating the valve. A biasing means in the form of a torsion spring has one end fixed to the housing and the other end fixed to the rotatable shaft for automatically urging the shaft into the clockwise direction for closing the valve. The knob and the torsion spring can be used separately or combined. A kit includes a control knob and torsion spring and uses a method for retrofitting a standard jack to a jack having a control knob with automatic return. A control knob type wrench has an inner side that is engageable with a standard double-key head of the control valve for operating the valve.

Abstract: A refrigerator structural support is provided by permitting polyurethane foam reactant material to impregnate a body of fibrous material and to subsequently harden. The result is a third material having desirable stiffening and support characteristics. Various means are disclosed for controlling and advantageously using the result of the impregnation of fibrous material by foam reactant material.

Abstract: A refrigerator structural support is provided by permitting polyurethane foam reactant material to impregnate a body of fibrous material and to subsequently harden. The result is a third material having desirable stiffening and support characteristics. Various means are disclosed for controlling and advantageously using the result of the impregnation of fibrous material by foam reactant material.

Abstract: A recess-type, screw-receiving fastener is formed directly into a thermoplastic sheet, preferably during the same operation which forms the plastic sheet into a useful configuration, such as a refrigerator inner liner. The fastener, when viewed from the rear side, resembles a plurality of "pinches" forming gusset-like folds. From the front side, it comprises a central recess in communication with side recesses formed by the interiors of the gusset-like folds. The central recess is adapted for receiving a male fastener such as a screw and the gusset-like folds distribute the load into a sufficient surrounding area of the plastic sheet.