Abstract: A finger operated extraction tool for stemming strawberries and other fruit and produce, the tool having a U-shaped configuration with two elongated prongs with pointed tips having a flat band end interconnecting the two prongs and spacing the prongs apart, the band end forming a leaf spring that returns the prongs to a parallel position after the tips of the prongs are urged together by a user's fingers, the prongs preferably being bifurcated forming two tines with pointed end and having edges that are sharpened for improved stemming.

Abstract: An auxiliary sun flap for a conventional vehicle sun visor that has a shade panel configured to fold within the perimeter of a conventional vehicle sun visor where the visor has an edge and the shade panel is connected to the edge of the visor and the shad panel has a hinge connected to one end of the shade panel and a connector that connects to the sun visor edge such that the shade panel folds against the conventional vehicle sun visor during periods of non-use and folds outward to extend the effective shade area of the vehicle sun visor.

Abstract: A pill dispenser that aids in the dispensing of pills from a medicine bottle or container having a top opening and an inside wall in which a raised spiral coil is included on the inside wall of the container where the coil terminates next to the top opening, the raised spiral coil forming a substantially spiral ridge and a substantially spiral trough into which pills are guided when tipping the bottle or container to discharge one or more pills.

Abstract: A system for forming thin-wall pre-cast concrete forms and structures, using vertical casting and slip-form techniques to partition wet concrete into separate thin-wall sections, the system being particularly useful for fabricating pre-cast concrete column forms having a composition and vertical consistency substantially the same as the integral poured concrete core of the finished concrete column.

Abstract: A nut cracking mechanism for shelling variable-sized nuts having a brittle shell and fragile nut meat, the nut cracker mechanism having a housing with a horizontally positioned rotatable drum contained in the housing, and an adjustable, substantially vertical compression plate mounted in the housing with a cracking surface displaced from a cylindrical slip resistant cracking surface of the drum to form a narrowing gap between the drum and the compression plate, the gap having an upper portion sized to accommodate nuts of varying sizes and a lower portion sized to compress nuts between the cylindrical surface of the drum and the compression plate until the nut cracks and releases its meat, the mechanism having associated components to feed nuts to the top of the mechanism and receive shells and meat from the bottom of the mechanism.

Abstract: A sliding hatch cover unit for a pressurizable tanker, that carries a dry granular material that is pneumatically discharged, the sliding hatch cover unit having a track mounted hatch cover that can be displaced from a position of safety and a circular hatch port gate that is internally mounted on a hinge within the tank of the tanker through a port in the tank before installation of a port sleeve having a seal engageable with the circular gate in order to use the internal pressure of the tank when pressurized to seal the tank, the gate being hinged and connected to the hatch cover for opening and closing along with the sliding hatch cover.

Abstract: A rotary washing wand that is connectable to a conventional garden hose, the wand including an elongated tube having a handle portion with a hose connector and a flow control valve and a distal end with a cleaning head having a housing containing a nozzle at the end of the elongated tube and a water wheel on a shaft with one end that extends through the housing and is joined to a rotatable washing implement, such as a sponge with the cleaning head having a shroud around the washing implement to direct water at the object being washed.

Abstract: A remote display for a test and measurement apparatus is provided including a control panel. The control panel is removable and user-replaceable with an alternate control panel. The control panel can be connected to the remote display device to control and interact with the test and measurement apparatus, and to control the display of information on the remote display device.

Abstract: A test and measurement apparatus is provided including a control panel. The control panel is removable and user-replaceable with an alternate control panel. The control panel can be connected to the test and measurement apparatus or to a generic local computing device to control and interact with the test and measurement apparatus.

Abstract: A pneumatic lift device that has a lift unit and an activatable air supply connected to the lift unit with the lift unit having a substantially rectangular base with four sides and a substantially rectangular lift platform connected to the base by a hinge mechanism that includes four foldable side panels connected to the four sides of the base and lift platform with the lift unit having an expandable bladder between the base and lift platform, wherein on expanding the bladder with pressurized air from the air supply, the lift platform rises from the base.

Abstract: A slide hatch for a bulk carrier vehicle for removing a hatch cover from an access port on the top of a carrier tank on the vehicle, the slide hatch including a slide carriage connected to the hatch cover and to an actuator which displaces the slide carriage and back cover with the slide carriage mounted on a track and connected to a cam mechanism for forcing the cover against the access port when the cover is displaced over the port for sealing the tank.

Abstract: A lavatory fixture having a combination, urinal and hand wash faucet for public restrooms, particularly in high traffic locations such as airports, the lavatory fixture having a urinal and hand sink combined in a single lavatory unit with a self-activated hand faucet being positioned above a urinal catch basin, the hand faucet having an associated proximity sensor to activate a water flow for washing hands, when a user's hands are placed proximate the faucet, and the urinal having an associated proximity sensor for sensing the presence of a user proximate the urinal to flush the urinal when the user moves away from the urinal, the lavatory fixture having a common drain and an optional hand soap dispenser.

Abstract: A food slicer for slicing a variety of food items, the food slicer having a cutting platform with a housing supporting an adjustable sizing plate, fixed horizontal cutting blade and a receiving plate flush with the cutting blade, the housing having a guide for a food transport sled, the transport sled having a food item guide conduit providing a well for receiving food items to be sliced, and a flange slidably engageable with the housing guide, the food items being sliced when the transport sled is displaced from over the sizing plate, across the cutting blade to the receiving plate, the food slicer having a food container on which the cutting platform is seated to receive the food slices.

Abstract: A base station modulator for the digital cellular mobile communication system achieves reduced hardware complexity in a base band QPSK modulating circuit by applying the Multilevel Logic Operation (MLO) which is extended from the conventional binary exclusive-OR operation, to the conventional Base Station Modulator (BSM). The base station modulator includes a plurality of spreaders 621 for QPSK spreading of a voice data stream. These spreaders 621 employ binary-multilevel Logic (MLO) gates instead of multiple binary exclusive-OR gates. The binary-multilevel Logic gate includes a subtractor 510 and a selector 520. The subtractor has one input (-) to which multilevel logic values are applied and one input (+) to which a maximum logic level of the multilevel logic values is applied. The selector has one input to which the multilevel logic values are applied, one input to which the output signal of the subtractor 510 is applied, and one control input to which the binary logic value is applied.

Abstract: A food processing apparatus particularly designed for handling produce items with a calyx and including a vacuum mechanism for grasping the produce item by the calyx for orientation and transportation of the item and a coring implement for removal of the calyx from a properly oriented produce item, the processing apparatus being designed to perform grasping and coring operations at separate stations or is a single operation.

Abstract: Nut cracking apparatus including a cracking machine with first and second opposed cracking plates with pivot means for suspending one of the plates from a pivot axis substantially parallel to and spaced from the pivot axis of the other suspended plate, the suspended plates being interconnected at the bottom of each plate by a link mechanism having a release, so that the plates are suspended with the spacing between the plates at the top of the plates being greater than the spacing at the bottom of the plates, the machine having a reciprocal drive mechanism that swings the plates together to a cracking position where the plates are closer together and then to a release position where the release mechanism moves the plates apart releasing the cracked nuts; the apparatus including a nut feed mechanism for a timed feed of nuts between the plates of the cracking machine.

Abstract: A form-fill concrete wall system assembled from a plurality of connected wall panels forming the inside and outside sheath of a wall structure, the inside and outside panels being connected along their side edges to form the inside sheath and the outside sheath, and being interconnected by a series of cross webs that maintain the panels in a spaced relationship wherein concrete fills the space between the inside sheath and outside sheath to form the wall structure, the cross webs being replaceable and selected in part to define the thickness of the wall structure.