A continuous chain bit for hard rock drilling is disclosed which is capable of downhole cycling. A drill head assembly moves axially relative to a support body while the chain on the head assembly is held in position so that the bodily movement of the chain cycles the chain to present new composite links for drilling. A pair of spring fingers on opposite sides of the chain hold the chain against movement. The chain is held in tension by a spring-biased tensioning bar. A head at the working end of the chain supports the working links. The chain is centered by a reversing pawl and piston actuated by the pressure of the drilling mud. Detent pins lock the head assembly with respect to the support body and are also operated by the drilling mud pressure. A restricted nozzle with a divergent outlet sprays drilling mud into the cavity to remove debris. Indication of the centered position of the chain is provided by noting a low pressure reading indicating proper alignment of drilling mud slots on the links with the corresponding feed branches.

A combination regenerative ring and backward Raman waveguide amplifier and a combination regenerative ring oscillator and backward Raman waveguide amplifier which produce Raman amplification, pulse compression, and efficient energy extraction from the CO/sub 2/ laser pump signal for conversion into a Stokes radiation signal. The ring cavity configuration allows the CO/sub 2/ laser pump signal and Stokes signal to copropagate through the Raman waveguide amplifier. The backward Raman waveguide amplifier configuration extracts a major portion of the remaining energy from the CO/sub 2/ laser pump signal for conversion to Stokes radiation.

A secondary concentrator for use in receiver systems for linear focusing primary concentrators is provided with reflector wings at each end. The wings increase the capture of light rays reflected from areas adjacent the rim of a primary concentrator, increasing the apparent aperture size of the receiver as viewed from the rim of the primary concentrator. The length, tilt, and curvature of the wing reflectors can be adjusted to provide a receiver having a desired aperture aspect.

A seal assembly comprises a tube rotatable about its longitudinal axis and having two longitudinally spaced flanges projecting radially outwardly from the outer surface thereof. Slidably positioned against one of the flanges is a seal ring, and disposed between this seal ring and the other flange are two rings that are forced apart by springs, one of the latter rings being attached to a flexible wall.

A steering system for use with a multiple vehicle train is disclosed which permits tracking without rails of one vehicle after another. This system is particularly useful for moving conveyor systems into and out of curved paths of room and pillar underground mine installations. The steering system features an elongated steering bar pivotally connected to each of adjacent vehicles at end portions of the bar permitting angular orientation of each vehicle in respect to the steering bar and other vehicles. Each end portion of the steering bar is linked to the near pair of vehicle wheels through wheel yoke pivot arms about king pin type pivots. Movement of the steering bar about its pivotal connection provides proportional turning of the wheels to effect steering and tracking of one vehicle following another in both forward and reverse directions.

A system is provided for utilizing fines of carbonaceous materials such as particles or pieces of oil shale of about one-half inch or less diameter which are rejected for use in some conventional or prior surface retorting process, which obtains maximum utilization of the energy content of the fines and which produces a waste which is relatively inert and of a size to facilitate disposal. The system includes a cyclone retort which pyrolyzes the fines in the presence of heated gaseous combustion products, the cyclone retort having a first outlet through which vapors can exit that can be cooled to provide oil, and having a second outlet through which spent shale fines are removed. A burner connected to the spent shale outlet of the cyclone retort, burns the spent shale with air, to provide hot combustion products that are carried back to the cyclone retort to supply gaseous combustion products utilized therein. The burner heats the spent shale to a temperature which forms a molten slag, and the molten slag is removed from the burner into a quencher that suddenly cools the molten slag to form granules that are relatively inert and of a size that is convenient to handle …

A groove refinishing tool is disclosed which utilizes a finishing wheel which is controlled by an air grinder motor. The air grinder motor is mounted on a main body section which is pivotally attached to a shoe element. The shoe element contains guide pins which guide the shoe element on the groove to be refinished. Application of pressure on the main body element compresses a weight counterbalance spring to extend the finishing wheel through the shoe element to refinish the groove surface. A window is provided for viewing the refinishing operation. Milling operations can also be performed by replacing the finishing wheel with a milling wheel.

The invention described herein relates to methods of forming graded polymeric coatings or films on a desired substrate and of forming metallic coatings on polymeric or other nonmetallic substrates. In particular, it relates to methods of forming such coatings or films by sorption and/or diffusion of metals into coatings or films of polymeric material deposited by conventional techniques on a desired substrate.

A secondary, high temperature electrochemical cell especially adapted for lithium alloy negative electrodes, transition metal chalcogenide positive electrodes and alkali metal halide or alkaline earth metal halide electrolyte is disclosed. The cell is held within an elongated cylindrical container in which one of the active materials is filled around the outside surfaces of a pluraity of perforate tubular current collectors along the length of the container. Each of the current collector tubes contain a concentric atubular layer of electrically insulative ceramic as an interelectrode separator. The active material of opposite polarity in elongated pin shape is positioned longitudinally within the separator layer. A second electrically conductive tube with perforate walls can be swagged or otherwise bonded to the outer surface of the pin as a current cllector and the electrically insulative ceramic layer can be coated or otherwise layered onto the outer surface of this second current collector. Alternatively, the central pin electrode can include an axial core as a current collector.

A reusable system is described for removably attaching the upper end of a nuclear reactor duct tube to the lower end of a nuclear reactor fuel assembly handling socket. A transition ring, fixed to the duct tube's upper end, has an interior-threaded section with a first locking hole segment. An adaptor ring, fixed to the handling socket's lower end has an outside-threaded section with a second locking hole segment. The inside and outside threaded sections match and can be joined so that the first and second locking hole segments can be aligned to form a locking hole. A locking ring, with a locking pin, slides over the adaptor ring so that the locking pin fits in the locking hole. A swage lock or a cantilever finger lock is formed from the locking cup collar to fit in a matching groove in the locking ring to prevent the locking ring's locking pin from backing out of the locking hole.

A toroidal magnet is described for confining a high magnetic field for use in fusion reactor research and nuclear particle detection. The magnet includes a series of conductor elements arranged about and fixed at its small major radius portion to the outer surface of a central cylindrical support each conductor element having a geometry such as to maintain the conductor elements in pure tension when a high current flows therein, and a support assembly which redistributes all or part of the tension which would otherwise arise in the small major radius portion of each coil element to the large major radius portion thereof.