Abstract: A regulating valve comprising a housing having a cylindrical valve chamber, the valve chamber being provided with at least one inlet and at least two outlets, the inlet and the outlets being at least partially closeable as needed by a common valve body arranged in the valve chamber and rotatable around an axis, the valve body being operable by an actuator, the inlet and/or at least one of the outlets being surrounded by a sealing device on the side of the housing facing the valve body and the sealing device being able to be brought into sealing engagement with the valve body under elastic preload. The valve body is designed having the shape of the segment of a cylinder and is bounded on the peripheral side by two boundary surfaces which each have an edge on the side facing the housing, the edge overtravelling the inlet during its opening being designed as an efflux edge and having an elliptically shaped recess extending in axial direction.

Abstract: An elastic knee support is designed as a flexible tube (5) with an elastic profiled insert (6) in the area of the hollow of the knee. The profiled insert extends across the axis of the leg, covering the sinews (11,12) of the hollow of the knee. Recesses (7,8) which receive each one sinew of the hollow of the knee interrupt on both sides of the sinews of the hollow of the knee supporting zones of the profiled insert which exercise a pressure on the hollow of the knee.

Abstract: A liquid separator for the separation of liquids from gases is disclosed. The separator has an inlet orifice for receiving a flow of the gas laden with liquid, a first outlet for the liquid and a second outlet for the gas liberated from the liquid, and an adjusting mechanism for varying the available cross-sectional area arranged in the inlet orifice. The inlet orifice has a tubular passage cross-section and is bounded along its entire length by a dimensionally fixed wall. The adjusting mechanism has a pressure control assembly having a pneumatically operable control element which is arranged within the inlet orifice in a manner allowing relative movement therewith.

Abstract: A regulating valve, comprising a housing having a cylindrical valve chamber, is disclosed. The valve chamber is provided with at least one inflow and at least two outflow ports. The inflow and the outflow ports can be at least partly closed off as required by a single common valve body arranged in the valve chamber that can rotate about an axis. The valve body acts as a rotary valve and can be actuated by a drive. The inflow and/or at least one of the outflow ports is surrounded on the side of the housing facing the valve body by a seal. The seal can be brought into sealing engagement with the valve body under an elastic preload. The valve body has an extension in the peripheral direction of the valve chamber that is delimited in each case by an edge, such that the flowoff edge passing over the inflow port while it is opening has an axially extending elliptical indentation.

Abstract: An elastic knee joint bandage is in tubular form with an elastic profile insert encircling the knee cap in an opening. The areas of the profile insert adjacent to the poles of the knee cap are connected by a flexible, unstretchable tension member placed around the knee cap in a curve in the profile insert on the side of the fibula, so that when the distance between these areas is increased by flexing the knee joint, the distance of the curve from the line joining the poles of the knee cap is reduced, and the edge of the opening of the profiled insert in question on the adjacent side of the knee cap presses it medially with a shifting and centering effect.

Abstract: An improved process for preparing cyclic acetals of 3-formyl-2-butenyltriphenylphosphonium chloride by acetalization of 3-formyl-2-butenyl acetate with an aliphatic 1,3-diol, conversion of the resulting 4-acetoxy acetal into the corresponding 4-hydroxy acetal, Vilsmeier chlorination to give the corresponding 4-chloro acetal and subsequent reaction with triphenylphosphine entails carrying out the first 3 steps in an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon or mixture of hydrocarbons with 6-8 carbons and the reaction with triphenylphosphine in an alkanol with 1-3 carbons and/or in aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon with 6-8 carbons or a corresponding mixture of hydrocarbons. The process is particularly advantageous when conversion of the 4-acetoxy acetal into the 4-hydroxy acetal is carried out with an aqueous alkali metal hydroxide solution in the presence of phase-transfer catalysts, and the first three, or all four, reaction stages are carried out in the same C.sub.6 -C.sub.8 -hydrocarbon.

Abstract: An improved process for preparing E,Z-butenedial bis(dialkyl acetals) by reacting the corresponding 2,5-dialkoxy-2,5-dihydrofurans with the corresponding lower alkanols in the presence of an acid at elevated temperature entails carrying out the reaction in the presence of approximately equimolar amounts of a trialkyl orthoformate and in the presence of catalytic amounts of a strong mineral acid or of a strong organic acid.

Abstract: A hydraulic valve play equalization element for the valve drive of an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The equalization element comprises an inner tappet and an outer tappet arranged to move relative to one another in the axial direction. The outside tappet is formed by an essentially cup-shaped housing with a level bottom and the inside tappet and the outside tappet delimit an oil-filled storage space which is sealed towards the outside and which can change in volume. A displacement element to equalize volume changes is enclosed in the storage space. The outside tappet is formed by an essentially tube-shaped mantle of thermoplastic material, which has slide surfaces radially inside and outside. The mantle is closed off with a fluid seal, by a disk structured as an expeller, in the direction of a cam shaft that is used. The inside slide surface encloses the inside tappet, resting against its circumference, and forming a fluid seal.

Abstract: The preparation of 3-alkoxycarbonyl propenals and 3-dialkoxymethyl propenals of the general formulae Ia and Ib respectively: ##STR1## (R.sup.1 =C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 -alkyl group; R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 =hydrogen, methyl, or ethyl; and R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 =C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 -alkyl groups, which may be joined to form a 5-membered or 6-membered ring), is effected by reacting a corresponding alcohol of the general formula IIa or IIb ##STR2## with oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas in the gas phase in the presence of a metal from Group IB of the Periodic Table or a compound of one such metal acting as catalyst.The target products serve as intermediates for the synthesis of carotenoids.

Abstract: A elastic bandage having a tubular shape with an opening for a thub disposed therein. The dandage is adapted to be disposed about the top, bottom and both sides of the hand. It is characterized by a profiled padding on opposite sides of the bandage and is adapted to engage the opposite sides of the hand and wrist. The padding tapers into unpadded portions of the bandage in the regions between the sides of the hand and the top and the bottom of the hand so that the bandage urges against the top and the bottom of the hand with only slight pressure in the unpadded regions. The padding acts like pillars supporting the bandage which spans the space between them.

Abstract: An ankle-joint orthosis which comprises a U-shaped supporting yoke consisting of flexible material, the arms of which meet in a web below the foot, extend above the malleoli and are held together in their end region by a fastening strap wrapping round the leg. The outer arm is taken upwards at the side in front of its malleolus and the inner arm is taken up opposite the outer arm, in front of the Achilles tendon. The arms are taken towards the web as far as a position in front of the heel and extend upwards towards their ends in such a manner that they rise upwards laterally beside the edges of the shinbone, substantially parallel to these. Fitted in the lower region of the arms is a supporting strap, particularly a self-gripping strap, which extends from the one arm, over the instep obliquely upwards to the other arm on which it can be fixed, engages round the Achilles tendon above the malleolus and, crossing over itself on the instep, ends in a holding member on the other arm.

Abstract: A diaphragm drive apparatus for an objective lens with a manually preselectable diaphragm. The diaphragm drive apparatus is provided within the objective housing and is actuable by the shutter release mechanism of the camera to which it is affixed. The apparatus includes a plunger which operates a release mechanism. This release mechanism operates a drive lever which effects a connection with a diaphragm blade drive ring. A cam follower provided on an arm of the drive lever follows a cam surface on the release mechanism. The cam surface has one portion for effecting movement of the cam follower in engagement with the cam surface and a second portion which does not impart movement to the cam follower.