A side loading refuse collection truck is equipped with apparatus for lifting containers from the ground at a random lateral distance from the side of the truck, elevating these containers above a refuse collection compartment of the truck and there inverting the container to allow the discharge through gravity of the refuse from the container to the truck. Thereafter, the apparatus permits replacement of the container alongside the truck at precisely the location where the container was first l...

A rapid connector is utilized to effect electrical connections between individual wire ends from a multi-conductor cable to terminal pins on a terminal block such as might be located in a central telephone office. The connector comprises an insulative body having a plurality of wire receiving pins on one side to which the wire ends of the multi-conductor cable are connected at the factory or during the manufacture of the body. The other side of the body includes a plurality of terminal pin recei...

A shipping, storage and racking method and apparatus for packages designed to be hung on pegs on display racks includes a storage/transfer member dimensioned to pass through the openings by which the packages are hung. An opening is provided along the longitudinal axis of the storage/transfer member to permit the member to be slid over a display rack peg so that packages on the peg can be supported by the member and removed as a single unit by holding them on the member as it is slid off the peg...

In a rapid coupling, an end section of a pipe nipple engages in a throughhole of a sleeve. A groove provided on the pipe nipple serves to engage a resilient locking ring formed in the sleeve in order to lock the coupled state. The locking ring is located in an annular recess formed close to the insertion end of the sleeve. If the pipe nipple is not inserted into the bush to such an extent that the locking ring latches in the groove, the pipe nipple is pushed outward by a compression spring provi...

A rapid coupler comprises a main body and an auxiliary coupler. The main body has a main tube and a coupling tube at the rear of the main tube. The auxiliary coupler has a retaining pipe and a coupling pipe in front of the retaining pipe. A first compression spring and an elastic plug are inserted in the main tube. A second compression spring and an elastic block are inserted in the retaining pipe. The main body couples with the auxiliary coupler.

Rapid prototype apparatus including an adhesive dispenser for dispensing an adhesive and an actuator which moves the adhesive dispenser in at least one of six degrees of freedom (preferably in at least four degrees of freedom, and most preferably in six degrees of freedom) in accordance with a geometry of an object. The adhesive dispenser then dispenses the adhesive in accordance with the geometry of the object, applying successive layers of adhesive one on top of the previous layer. The adhesiv...

A rapid coupling, having a socket and a nipple which can be inserted into the socket. A locking device for the coupled position between the socket and nipple includes a radially outwardly protruding bead on the nipple. A cage mounted in the socket includes widenable holding fingers for gripping behind the bead on the nipple. The cage has an indicating device which includes radially outwardly displaceable, axially extending arms. The ends of those arms have a nose that can be seen and/or felt fro...

The invention relates to a rapid prototyping apparatus for the manufacturing of three dimensional objects by additive treatment of cross sections comprising a wholly or partially light-sensitive material, said apparatus comprising at least one light source for illumination of a cross section of the light-sensitive material by at least one spatial light modulator of individually controllable light modulators, wherein at least one light source is optically coupled with a plurality of light guides ...

An endless water way is supported by a superstructure and includes a bottom wall and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall to form a trough. A pump system effects continuous forward flow of water through the trough of the waterway. A guide track is supported on the waterway above the trough. A plurality of vehicles for transporting passengers from station to station are buoyantly supported by the guide track in the waterway. The guide track maintains the vehicles at a selected depth...

A rapid transit system in which a vehicle, typically consisting of a train of detachably coupled cars, is suspended in a vacuum tunnel with at least two sloping reaches from a ferromagnetic monorail of high resistivity by magnetic attraction and propelled by gravity. Servo-controlled electromagnets allow the vehicle to be suspended from the rail without actually being in contact with it or any other part of the tunnel. Propulsion by gravity from one station to the next is accomplished by allowin...