Abstract: A method and apparatus for interosseous bone fixation uses a compression staple, generally U-shaped, having a pair of legs with sharp front ends and proximal ends interconnected by a bridge portion, the staple having an initial configuration in which its generally straight legs converge with respect to each other, and capable of a tensioned configuration by resiliently moving and holding the legs in parallel relationship whereby the staple is urged towards its initial configuration with a certain compressive spring force. A staple applicator supports and guides the staple and positions the tensioned staple with its pointed ends forward, adjacent an ejection port at the front of the applicator. A powered strike member is mounted for longitudinal movement in the applicator and has a front end that will strike the rear of the tensioned staple with percussive force and eject it in tensioned condition from the applicator.

Abstract: A pad for a horseback rider's stirrup is adapted for being removably installed in the stirrup, the stirrup having a horizontal foot platform with top and bottom surfaces and an elongate aperture therein, the pad comprised of three layers of polymeric materials of distinct properties and joined to each other by molecular cross-linking. A thin, flexible, high coefficient of friction top layer is adapted for griping, and a thicker mid layer adapted for dampening shock forces, and there is a harder, flexible lower layer. A portion of the pad, integral with the lower layer is adapted to engage the platform aperture and bottom to removably anchor the pad to the stirrup, and the top surface of the platform engages the bottom of the lower layer to vertically support the pad.

Abstract: Disclosed is a portable combination lock having a reset button extension member, the lock having an elongated outer case that encloses lock mechanism including several spaced-apart numbered dials rotatably mounted on a longitudinally extending shaft assembly. A latch is mounted to the front end of the case and one end of the shaft assembly is adapted to shift axially to lock and unlock the latch. The other end of the shaft assembly is depressible in an axial direction against spring force when the combination is set to unlock the mechanism, to allow the lock combination to be reset as desired. The extension member has a first end mounted to the rear end of the case, and it extends longitudinally from the case to its distal end. The lock can be held by its case and the distal end of the extension member pressed against an immovable surface to cause a forward portion of the extension member to engage and operate the depressible end of the shaft assembly.

Abstract: Disclosed is a collapsible assembly for adjustably supporting a net for pitching back, rebounding, or otherwise returning various types of game balls, the assembly including first and second U-shaped stand members, each having a crossbar and a pair of spaced apart leg elements, the cross bar being adapted for engaging a horizontal surface such as a floor or the ground, and the upper ends of the leg elements mounted to a pair of hub plates from which the leg elements diverge at a substantial angle to form a stand. An inverted U-shaped net support member has its lower ends connected to the hub plates by way of mechanism that allows the support member to be angularly adjusted about a horizontal axis and releasably locked at a chosen orientation.

Abstract: A method and system for repairing and restoring chipped and scratched regions of an automotive body, the damage being characterized by recesses in the exterior, involves the use of color-matched paint repair material, and includes the steps of cleaning the recesses, coating the recesses and adjacent area with a lubricating agent that also will retard the ability of the repair material to bond with surfaces of the damaged region. The paint-repair material is deposited on undamaged surfaces adjacent the recesses, and then a blade comprised of a soft resilient plastic material is slidably moved over the damaged region to spread and move the deposited paint over the damaged region causing the paint-material to be deposited in the recesses and to remove most of the excess material from the undamaged surfaces adjacent to the recesses. After a short drying interval, final steps include wiping away excess repair material soft cloth wetted with a suitable solvent.

Abstract: Disclosed is a swivelable binding plate assembly for a snowboard, including a generally circular base plate having a bottom directly supported on a snowboard, a top surface, an outwardly projecting perimeter edge spaced above the snowboard, and a central opening with a perimeter edge adapted to be engaged by the lower part of the outer edge of a hold-down disk received in the central opening, the disk being securable to the snowboard by threaded bolts to hold the base plate down to the snowboard and against rotation.

Abstract: A therapeutic device for being removably retained in a person's nostrils is generally U-shaped and includes a pair of opposing resilient arms insertable within the nostrils and soft spherical surfaces on the free ends of the arms for engaging opposing sides of the nasal septum.

Abstract: Disclosed is a carrier, attachable to the rear frame of a bicycle, for mounting in upright position a pair of in-line roller skates of the type of skate that includes a boot, and a support frame below the boot for rotatably mounting a plurality of wheels in tandem, the carrier including framework that supports an elongate horizontal central platform, first and second relatively narrow support plates co-planar with the central platform, the first plate spaced from one side edge portion of the central platform and the second plate spaced from the other side portion of the central platform to provide a longitudinal slot on each side of the central platform for receiving respectively the wheels of one of the pair of skates and those of the other skate.

Abstract: Disclosed is a quick-assembly and knock-down, portable utility shed formed of releasably interlockable front, rear, and opposing side wall panels, and roof panels. The opposite vertical edges of the front and rear panels, and the side panels, respectively, are characterized by releasably latchable tongue-and-groove structure. The upper portions of the front and rear panels have a gable structure and include a pair of support members that slope downwardly from an apex. The shed is completed by a pair of roof panels that are releasably secured to the side panels and the gable structure of the front and rear panels. Each panel comprises a support frame to which exterior siding is affixed, and the siding of each panel has edge portions that are releasably interconnectable with edge portions of the siding of an adjacent panel.

Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for controlling, managing and facilitating the process of fabricating and/or constructing a useful physical entity such as a building, the invention involving the computer generation of a construction guidance and control tape for use by the primary hands-on fabricators, the invention including determining the control/fabrication tasks required according to the relevant plans and specifications, and the sequence by which such tasks are to be performed Then, information including the identification and description of component parts and their relative assembled locations and orientations is input to a computer controlled by a computer program in conjunction with a printer that will print out a plurality of elongate construction guidance and control tapes of predetermined lengths, one side of each tape providing a surface upon which indicia and information can be printed including showing where in the work environment the tape is to be attached, the beginning end of the tape, and

Abstract: A rack for carrying in-line type roller skates over the rear wheel of a bicycle. The rack carries the skates in a saddle bag fashion, with each one of a pair of skates being held within an enclosure that is adjacent to each side of a bicycle's rear wheel. The enclosure holds the skate along the skate's lengthwise axis parallel to the direction of travel of the bicycle.