A support or fixing device for pipework having walls which are thin relative to its diameter and subjected to large temperature variations and to radial forces. The device comprises: (a) support cradles (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) having an internal profile whose radius of curvature is close to that of the pipework; (b) a rigid half-collar (7) disposed around and spaced from the periphery of the pipework, and having some of the cradles fixed thereto; (c) two arms (5A, 5B) hinged at their ends to the half-collar and having others of the cradles fixed thereto; and (d) a flexible arm clamping device (9) resiliently applying the cradles against the pipework, independently of expansions and radial forces applied to the pipework.

A counterbalancing device for a hatchback lid on a road vehicle includes a lid hinged at the top about a horizontal axis to the superstructure of the vehicle and at least one counterbalancing unit such as a pneumatic spring. One end of the counterbalancing unit is pivoted to the superstructure and the other end is pivoted to the lid. The counterbalancing unit is pivotally connected to one of the lid and the superstructure by a first lever. A first end of a link is pivotally connected to the first lever; a second end of the link is pivotally connected to a second lever which, in turn, is connected to the one of the superstructure and the lid. A roller carried by the second lever bears against the superstructure or the lid near the closed position of the lid. The device is more efficient than known devices irrespective of the layout of the lid.

A method and apparatus for electronic typing of symbolic language texts is disclosed. A twelve-key keyboard utilizing a modified four-corner identifier system permits construction of a first shape identifier code utilizing indicia which represent the shape of a character to be reproduced. Alternatively, a phonetic identifier code utilizing a phonetic alphabet can be constructed to represent the character. The identifier code is used to select one or more characters stored in a data processing system memory, each character selected by the shape identifier code having the same four-corner identifier indicia, and each character selected by the phonetic identifier code having the same phonetic spelling. Only a limited number of characters can be uniquely identified by either the four-corner system or the phonetic spelling system; for the remainder of the characters, a single set of indicia or a single phonetically spelled word can represent two or more characters, and thus ambiguities exist in the selection process. If the word to by typed comprises a single character, means are provided for manually disambiguating the characters selected by the indicia code. If the word consists of two syllables, means are provided automatically to disambiguate the word in accordance with known character pairings. If more than one such pairing exists for a given identifier code, additional means are provided for manually disambiguating the pairs. Means are provided for storing and/or displaying the unique character or character pair which results from the selection process.

A center valve rotary drum filter includes radially disposed baffles or vanes which extend in the center valve opening from axial surface channels to a central drainage conduit. The baffles provide channels in the center valve opening which collect, direct, and accelerate filtrate flow toward the drainage conduit thereby improving the overall operating efficiency of the filter. The center valve rotary drum filter further includes a curved flow passage between the flow-confining walls. This flow passage is curved toward the central axis of the drainage conduit for directing filtrate flow to the drainage conduit. In a preferred case, the curved flow passage comprises a concavely curved, cone-like member having a broad proximal base and a narrow distal end. The base end is directed toward the one of the radial flow-confining walls opposite the entrance to the drainage conduit, the distal end being directed toward the central axis of the drainage conduit.

A three-dimensionally crosslinkable resin is applied to a sheet of thermoplastic material, and cured to form a scratch resistant coating on the sheet. The coated sheet is then subjected to the action of heat and uniform area pressure between polished surfaces. This pressing treatment results in an optically smooth surface of the coating.