Selected U.S. Patent Abstracts

Abstract: A street sweeper drag shoe formed of an essentially planar, elongated strip of an elastomeric material. Such material being of sufficient hardness and resiliency that no reinforcing strips are required for the drag shoe to retain its shape. Especially, the drag shoe can be manufactured of polyurethane having a horizontal platform directed toward the inside of the drag shoe to help a cylindrical sweeper brush or other sweeper mechanism to move collected road debris up into the sweeper vehicle's hopper.

Abstract: An improvement system and apparatus designed to be affixed to a particular type of mixing/cooling/carbonation/bottling equipment comprising a duct for conveying residual fluid from a reservoir, an electronic override to bypass automatic circuitry of the mixing/cooling/carbonation/bottling equipment, means to observe the conveyance of the residual fluid through the duct, and means to terminate the flow of the residual fluid though the duct. The invention is designed to utilize a venturi effect created at one interface of the duct and the mixing/cooling/carbonation/bottling equipment and to ensure appropriate water to fluid mixing proportions. The invention permits recovery of almost five gallons of residual fluid after every production run of the mixing/cooling/carbonation/bottling equipment and significantly reduces the introduction of a large quanity of sugar to a bottling plant's sewage system.

Abstract: A multiple-loop magnetic induction system for improving communication with the hearing-impaired or to people in general who wish to listen privately to speech or music while being in the company of others or at a public location. The invention uses a particular grid made up of several electrical conductors as a means of generating an audio-frequency magnetic field which in turn couples to the telephone coils already present in most hearing aid units. The audio-frequency magnetic field is correlated to sound waveforms--speech, music, etc.--which is to be communicated. The grid configuration is selected so as to produce an end signal which is substantially independent of the location and the orientation of the hearing aid device within the area of the grid and which falls off precipitously outside of the region defined by the grid. The conductors which make up the grid configuration are enveloped in a flexible, lightweight matting which can be unrolled in the area to be addressed.

Abstract: Injection-molded intake-water filtering apparatus designed for use with electric power generating stations and the like, comprising a rectangular elastomeric grid in which the number and spacing of the longitudinal elements are both adjustable. The lateral spacing between the longitudinal elements is established by cylindrical sleeves through which pass transverse rods which bind together the longitudinal elements to form the grid. The elastomeric material used is of a hardness, strength, and elasticity necessary to resist the large forces to which the trash rake is exposed and sufficiently smooth that ice-nucleating centers and marine-growth anchors are effectively absent on the surface of the finished grid.

Abstract: A structure permitting pets separate passage between a household and the out-of-doors, comprising a succession of weathertight doors which the animal must traverse independently and consecutively and for which the household pet must be trained. An animal approaching the structure from the outside is not exposed to any draft or odor emanating from the interior of the house and, furthermore, is initially presented with a door that only opens backward toward itself and up; consequently, strange animals--those not trained to the structure--are not induced to enter.

Abstract: Lightweight, portable apparatus for cutting a wide range of materials available in sheet form, such as matboard, glass, light plastic, and leather. The invention lies in the unification of its cutting tool guide tract with the means of fixing in place the material to be cut. Four pegs are attached to the base of the apparatus for aligning the sheet to be cut. Equally important is the means by which it is automatically held in place during the cutting operation. Pieces of foam rubber or the like are inlaid in the base of the apparatus so that when the operator is pressing down on the cutting tool the resultant force normal to the supporting surface is sufficient to prevent lateral motion of the apparatus. Thus, no bulky and awkward clamping devices need to be used to affix the cutter to its supporting table. The apparatus also can be quickly converted into a T-square by attaching a cross-piece which mates with the base of the apparatus and in so doing defines a right angle with the combined guide track clamping plate.

Abstract: Apparatus for enabling wheelchair-confined individuals to more easily convey themselves between two different elevations, especially between the inside ground level of a house and the outside ground level. The key to the invention is a unitary molded lift or scoop on which the wheelchair rides while being conveyed between the two levels. This lift is formed so as to maintain the wheelchar seat in a horizontal orientation during transit. The lift is mounted in a frame in which also resides the peripheral equipment needed to raise and lower the lift. The lower end of the lift is attached to a pair of cables which pass up to and through the top of the frame and then around the take-up reels. The opposite end of the lift is attached by a hinge to the frame at the level of the higher elevation. In its preferred embodiment, the lift conveys the wheelchair between the interior of the ground floor of a house and the ground level outside.