Abstract: A control system may include a direct-current (DC) power bus for charging (e.g., trickle charging) internal energy storage elements in control devices of the control system. For example, the control devices may be motorized window treatments configured to adjust a position of a covering material to control the amount of daylight entering a space. The system may include a DC power supply that may generate a DC voltage on the DC power bus. For example, the DC power bus may extend from the DC power supply around the perimeter of a floor of the building and may be connected to all of the motorized window treatments on the floor (e.g., in a daisy-chain configuration). Wiring the DC power bus in such a manner may dramatically reduce the installation labor and wiring costs of an installation, as well as decreasing the chance of a miswire.

Abstract: A rip-rap laying machine designed to lay approximately 270 tons of rip-rap per hour resembles a huge steel bridge frame. The self-propelled unit overlies an acutely angled bank of a waterway, channel, or canal and moves along the bank (40) to lay rip-rap uniformly. The machine uses two cable-controlled hoppers (34 and 36) mounted on rails (20 and 22). An operator rides with the feeder hopper (36) and controls a loading hopper (34) to run between a dump hopper (32) on one end of the bridge and the feeder hopper (36). The loading hopper (34) transfers rip-rap from a dump hopper (32) to the feeder hopper (36). The rip-rap is transferred from the feeder hopper (36) to a vibratory feeder (38), which vibrates the rip-rap onto deflector plate (44) before rolling gently onto sheets of filter cloth placed upon the bank (40). Uniform placement of the rip-rap on the bank (40) occurs as the vibratory feeder (38) travels from the bottom to the top of the bridge.