Fmc Corporation

Ford Aerospace Corporation

Fmc Corporaton

Thomas E Roberts

Melvin H Lill

Andrew K Chang

Bruce M Wright

John A Abbott

Bruce M Harper

Ronald J Billett

Chich-Hsing A Tsao

James L Wiederrich

Yeongming Hwang

Clyde D Watson

Veikko K Viitanen

An antenna for transmitting and/or receiving circularly polarized (CP) electromagnetic radiation throughout a substantial portion of a sphere. A cylindrical waveguide (3,5) is associated with a transmit portion and a receive portion of the antenna, respectively. The outer surface of each waveguide (3,5) is covered with several conductive radiating patches (30,50) equidistant axially and circumferentially arranged. The patches (30,50) may be fed by elongated apertures (51,52) or by coaxial transmission line (41,42). In the former embodiment, CP is present within the waveguide (3,5), while in the latter embodiment, linear polarization is present within the coaxial transmission line (41,42). The individual patches (30,50) radiate CP in a direction normal to the patch (30,50) to produce CP in the broadside direction. The several patches (30,50) arranged in a circularly symmetric fashion working together create, by a process of constructive interference, CP axially, with opposite senses in the forward and reverse directions.

Near isotropic circularly polarized antenna

Apparatus for dividing and combining electromagnetic energy, particularly at microwave frequencies. An input port (4) is positioned generally equidistant from each of n output ports (5,6;31,32,33 . . . ), where n is a finite integer greater than 1. n quarter-wavelength impedance transforming conductors (20;41,42,43 . . . ) couple the input port (4) to the n output ports (5,6;31,32,33 . . . ), respectively. Positioned between each pair of adjacent output ports (5,6;31,32,33) is an isolation resistor (7). A pair of half-wavelength unity impedance transformers (21) couples each isolation resistor (7) to its two associated output ports (5,6;31,32,33 . . . ), respectively. The invention allows greater geometrical freedom than prior art splitters, and offers a lower loss for a given frequency.

Low loss power splitter

A generally planar antenna for generating circularly polarized electromagnetic signals, particularly useful at microwave frequencies. Each antenna element comprises a single excitation aperture (7) cut in a planar conductive ground plane (9). Spaced apart from the ground plane (9) by means of a dielectric layer (11) and covering the excitation aperture (7) is a planar conductive radiating patch (5) having slightly different dimensions along each of two orthogonal axes. The radiating patch (5) may have the shape of a near square or an ellipse. Exciting the aperture (7) with linearly polarized electromagnetic energy causes the radiating patch (5) to generate a circularly polarized electromagnetic signal consisting of two orthogonal components that have substantially the same amplitude and are 90.degree. offset in phase from each other. Several antenna elements can be combined to form a large aperture array. Energy may be applied to the excitation aperture (7) by means of a waveguide (3) feed, microstrip line (15), or stripline (15).

Aperture coupled circular polarization antenna

An electronic aligner head is mounted on one rear wheel of a vehicle. The aligner head projects a light beam toward the front wheel on the same side of the vehicle. A centering gage is adapted to contact lower points on the inner flanges of each of the rear wheel rims. A lateral arm is connected to a housing on the centering gage. The lateral arm extends past the one rear wheel and carries a centering gage head on the free end. The arm is adjustable in length to place the centering gage head at the same lateral distance from the chassis centerline as the light beam projector. The centering gage is removed from the position between the rear wheel rims and placed in a similar position between the front wheel rims. The centering gage head is configured to either reflect the beam back to a light beam detector on the aligner head or alternatively to direct the beam to a detector in the gage head. The detector provides a signal indicative of the toe of the one rear wheel.

Apparatus and method for measuring rear wheel toe with respect to

A stick inserter for inserting flat sticks into partially frozen confections in the molds of a confection machine forms a packed column of sticks in face to face engagement above a row of molds, a row of spaced thin blades is lowered and each blade forces a stick out of the column and into a confection. Upon retraction of the blades, pivotally mounted lower guide rails for the column, which have been lowered to accommodate stick insertion, are raised to restore displaced sticks back to their original positions in the column. In order to insure stick singulation, a jogging mechanism partially lowers the blades ad then retracts them slightly and a blade deflection plate releases previously deflected blades so that they spring against the faces of sticks adjacent to those to be inserted. A packer is provided between a stick feeder and the stick insertion zone of the inserter for exerting a selected constant pressure on the sticks during ejection in a manner that isolates the portion column sticks in the stick insertion zone from pressure exerted on the column by the feeder.

Inserting sticks into confections

An absorber for increasing the concentration of oxygen in a solution has a pressure chamber therein which receives oxygen under pressure as well as a liquid to be oxygenated within an upper portion thereof. A shaft on which a turbine blade agitator is mounted is located in the upper portion of the chamber. The shaft is driven rotationally by a motor through a rotary seal in the pressure chamber cover. A baffle plate is mounted within the pressure chamber to define a lower portion therebeneath, which is in communication with the upper portion, but isolated from the agitation in the upper portion. The oxygen-liquid solution which drains into the lower portion is subsaturated and relatively quiescent, so that large oxygen bubbles therein disengage and rise into the upper portion, and entrained small bubbles therein dissolve in the subsaturated oxygen-liquid solution. Consequently, substantially all of the oxygen contained in the oxygen-liquid mixture is in solution when the oxygen-liquid solution is removed from the lower chamber.

Gas absorber

An activated sludge sewage treatment process which includes a mixed liquor tank and a pressure vessel much smaller in size than said mixed liquor tank. At least a portion of the influent to said tank is directed to the pressure vessel where oxygen is dissolved therein under superatmospheric pressures. The pressure is then released and said portion of the influent gently transferred into said mixed liquor tank so that substantially all of the dissolved oxygen remains in solution until said influent portion is mixed with the sewage in the mixed liquor tank to thereby raise the dissolved oxygen concentration in the tank.

Pressurized oxygenation of sewage

A wheel alignment measuring system for measuring front wheel toe including a laser beam light projector mounted on a front wheel of a motor vehicle which projects a beam of light onto a pivotally mounted front mirror on the projector which oscillates back and forth through a ten degree angle about a reference line. The beam of light reflected from the oscillating mirror swings ten degrees on either side of a central reference beam line, and during its swing the beam strikes a fixed roof mirror mounted on the opposite front wheel of the vehicle. The thus reflected beam sweeps back and forth across the light projector and is successively intercepted by each of a pair of closely spaced photocells on the light projector, the cells being equally spaced on opposite sides of the reference beam line. The cells develop signals when they intercept the light beam which signals control and up/down counter through a flip-flop. The time interval required for the moving light beam to fall on a first cell, sweep in one outward direction and return in the opposite direction to the second cell is compared with the time interval required for the beam to continue its sweep from the second cell in said opposite direction and return in said one outward direction to the first cell. Such comparison is stored by the counter as a binary difference signal. A digital/analog converter converts the binary difference between these time intervals into a voltage which represents the total toe angle between the front wheels. The toe angle of the projector-mounting front wheel is obtained in a similar manner by sweeping a rearwardly directed light beam across a fixed roof mirror on the rear wheel that is directly behind said front wheel. In the preferred embodiment, the direction or 'sense' of the oscillating light beam is obtained by employing two photocells on opposite sides of a reference line so that the paired cells intercept the beam in one order on an outward sweep and in the opposite order on a return sweep. In a modified embodiment, a single cell replaces the paired cells, and a switch, which is operated by a cam on the motor shaft that swings the mirror, provides signals to a circuit which determines the direction of beam swing.

Time base swept-beam wheel aligning system

A light projector mounted on a front wheel of a vehicle uses a single laser to develop a beam which is split into a pair of light beams. The first light beam is projected to a calibrated mirror mounted on an adjacent rear wheel and is reflected to a target mounted near the projector on the front wheel of the vehicle so that the front wheel may be aligned with the rear wheel. The second light beam is projected to a mirror mounted on the other front wheel and is reflected to a target mounted adjacent the projector to check the toe of the front wheels. The target comprises a multichannel encoder which develops a plurality of Gray-coded binary signals in response to the position of the return beam. A rotating prism causes the light beams to sweep repetitively in a vertical plane so that the beams will strike the mirrors and the targets even when the projector is not mounted in a level position. A second prism may be moved into position to intercept the light beams and deflect them a predetermined angular amount so that the apparatus may be calibrated to correct for different spacings between the front wheels of the vehicles being checked.

Wheel-mounted vehicle wheel aligner

A static vehicle wheel balancer has a base which is supported on the floor and which mounts a vertical post. A wheel balance head is provided for receiving and centering a tire and wheel assembly to be balanced and has a level for indicating unbalance. A universal pivot between the balance head and the post is provided wherein the pivot point of the balance head is maintained coincident with the post axis, even when the post axis is inclined from the vertical. In one embodiment, the pivot assembly is formed by an upwardly facing spherical anvil surface that supports three equal diameter balls. The balancing head mounts a single pivot ball that is supported by the three support balls. Resilient means are provided for cushioning the pivot ball. In another embodiment of the invention, the universal pivot action is obtained by the use of a Hooke universal joint. Another embodiment embodies a universal joint of the Hooke type wherein the spider arms are made in the form of flexible blades. Another embodiment embodies a universal pivoting assembly wherein two sets of cylindrical rollers roll on cooperating concave and convex cylindrical surfaces.

Self-leveling static wheel balancer

A static vehicle wheel balancer has a base which is supported on the floor and which mounts a vertical post. A wheel balance head is provided for receiving and centering a tire and wheel assembly to be balanced and has a level for indicating unbalance. A universal pivot between the balance head and the post is provided wherein the pivot point of the balance head is maintained coincident with the post axis, even when the post axis is inclined from the vertical. In one embodiment, the pivot assembly is formed by an upwardly facing spherical anvil surface that supports three equal diameter balls. The balancing head mounts a single pivot ball that is supported by the three support balls. Resilient means are provided for cushioning the pivot ball. In another embodiment of the invention, the universal pivot action is obtained by the use of a Hooke universal joint. Another embodiment embodies a universal joint of the Hooke type wherein the spider arms are made in the form of flexible blades. Another embodiment embodies a universal pivoting assembly wherein two sets of cylindrical rollers roll on cooperating concave and convex cyindrical surfaces.

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Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Thomas E Roberts