A tractor has three pairs of ground wheels: front and rear steerable pairs which cooperate to steer the tractor, and a central pair. The central pair of wheels each are connected to the frame through a hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly which can be controlled to raise those wheels above the ground or to lower the wheels to engage the ground. The central wheels can be the same as the other wheels or traction caged wheels of hollow beams wherein a hub is connected to outer fellies with spokes...

Method and apparatus for retrieving lobsters or similar objects from the floor of a lobster pound or other shallow water body are described. An upward flow of water is established in a flexible conduit or passageway of size sufficient to accommodate the objects to be lifted. This is accomplished by a low pressure air lift particularly suited for non-traumatic handling of lobsters. Objects to be lifted are drawn into the upward flow as the flexible conduit is moved over the bottom. As objects ris...

Chlorination of carbohydrates and alcohols utilizing a chlorinating reagent selected from triphenylphosphine oxide/thionyl chloride, thiphenylphosphine oxide/phosgene, triphenylphosphine sulfide/thionyl chloride and triphenylphosphine sulfide/phosgene.

The process of obtaining preserved flower blooms and other natural predominantly carbohydrate products such as flower stems, leaves and vegetables which are free standing and have a natural fresh appearance maintained over prolonged periods which comprises removing most or substantially all of the water present in the substrate, said substrate including naturally occurring active hydrogen compounds as part of its structure, exposing the substantially dried substrate to a cross-linking compound c...

A leveller for a ladder has a pair of sliding legs telescopically engagable in respective up-right tubes (which may constitute the stiles of the ladder or separate tubes to be fixed to the stile of a ladder), and a substantially uniform continuous flexible ligament such as a wire rope fixed to upper regions of the legs and extending between the tubes and engaging with a support guide means which is fixed relative to the ladder structure or relative to the other apparatus on which the levelling d...

A jig for finishing of the blades of a turbo machine and which includes a cylindrical body on the peripheral of which are formed seatings and an annular strap or collar serves to lock the blades in place. A flange enables the jig to be mounted on a driving machine when the jig is partly immersed in an abrasive-containing enclosure which serves to effect the desired finishing of the blade tips or roots which protrude beyond one end of the cylindrical body.

A printing apparatus has an array of cartridges for printing a web of e.g. paper passing through the array, and one or more units containing printing medium. The cartridges each are capable of transferring the printing medium from the unit(s) to the web. The unit(s) and the cartridges of the array are relatively movable, to allow the unit(s) to interact successively with at least two of the cartridges. In this way it is possible to change printing from one cartridge to another, allowing changes ...

The circular crystal of a temperature indicating instrument has a circular flange rotatable in a channel in the instruments' casing. Fingers on the casing have teeth which mesh with teeth on the flange. The fingers yieldably hold the crystal in place but the crystal can be forcibly rotated. The crystal has a slotted post thereon and on said post is a bimetallic spiral coil the inner end of which is in the post's slot. Another post in the casing covers the slot to keep the coil in place on the fo...

A tractor has three pairs of ground wheels: a front steerable pair, a rear steerable pair and a central pair. The central pair of wheels each are fitted to the frame through a hydraulic piston assembly that can be controlled to raise those wheels above the ground or to lower the wheels to engage the ground. The central wheels can be the same as the other wheels or traction caged wheels of hollow beams wherein a hub is connected to outer fellies with spokes. Supports interconnect the fellies at t...

A cabinet has an upper portion which encloses a ram member movable vertically by a motor driven scissor-type actuator from an upper retracted position to a lower extended compacting position within a container positioned within the lower portion of the cabinet. The container is molded of a plastics material and is supported by a two-wheeled cart including pivotal arms which extend around an intermediate portion of the container and are locked together for restraining the container during compact...