Abstract: A system including a solar heat collector and a heat receiving structure has a supply conduit extending through an airspace within the solar heat collector, to the heat receiving structure, and into the heat receiving structure. A temperature sensor within the airspace of the solar heat collector measures a temperature within the airspace of the solar heat collector and turns an air pump on to move air through the supply conduit it this temperature is too high. This air may be exhausted through a bypass valve instead of being pumped into the heat receiving structure. The heat receiving structure may include a pool with water heated by bubbles of hot air from the supply conduit.

Abstract: A system and method is provided for taking digital photographs of subjects and for distributing digital images from the photographs according to subject identifiers transmitted from RFID tags held with the subjects. With a first embodiment, data from photographs taken of a number of groups of individuals, such as passengers on a cruise ship, are distributed only to individuals within the groups. With a second embodiment, the RFID tags are placed within or on objects likely to be stolen, so that the objects can be tracked by digital photographs automatically taken as the objects are moved past a camera unit.

Abstract: A suture tensioning apparatus for tightening the suture used to tie a tissue of a patient to the bone of the patient so that the tissue will cinch to the bone. A lever is mounted on a stub shaft that is supported to a base member and is movable in a lateral position. A pair of spaced spools are mounted on the lever and the reach of the suture is wrapped around each of the spools. Means, including a coil spring wrapped around the stub shaft is connected to the lever and a rotatable dome. The movement of the lever causes the lower portion of the coils to unwrap around the stub shaft, and rotation of the dome causes the upper portion of the coils to unwrap whereby the movement of the coil spring forces the lever to return to its original position. The tensioning apparatus can be incorporated into an existing suture gun or can be made integral therewith.

Abstract: A hybrid solar heat collector within a translucent dome structure includes a tubular frame, forming a first fluid path, and a transverse hose winding in a spiral inside and outside alternating legs of the frame to form a second fluid path. The first fluid path is connected to a reservoir in which a heater that is turned on to heat a fluid in the first fluid path when its temperature falls below a threshold. The reservoir is located within the dome structure and is configured to readily heat the space within the dome structure, so that the freezing of fluids within the heat collector is prevented. The translucent dome structure is provided with a layer having an opacity that is increased in response to an increase in temperature above a different threshold level, so that the boiling of fluids within the heat collector is prevented.

Abstract: A filtration system for collecting bone fragments during surgery performed on a patient includes a cylinder having a rotating disk with circumferential arms extending radially in the cylinder to define pockets. The rotating disk includes a longitudinal hub that carries an outlet connected to a central passageway formed in the disk. A plurality of apertures on the disk permit the liquid to flow into the passageway and through the outlet while the pockets retain the bone fragments. The disk is rotated to align circumferential spaced pockets to align with the inlet and outlet ports. The disks includes bearing surfaces that permit the rotation thereof and the arms are spaced from the cylinder inner surface to allow the flow of fluid in the event the pockets fill and clog the apertures and prevent flow into the outlet passage.

Abstract: A solar heat collecting dome includes a frame having an odd number of frame elements extending upward and inward from a floor structure to a disk at the top of the dome. A dome shaped helical structure including two flexible tubes is woven to extend along and around the frame elements, with the dome shaped helical structure extending across alternating inner and outer sides of the frame elements, and with adjacent portions of the dome shaped helical structure extending across alternating inner and outer sides of each frame element. At an outer end of the dome shaped helical structure, the two tubes form an inlet and an outlet. At the inner end, the two tubes are joined. The frame may also include a fluid path, with the fluid moving in opposite directions in each of the frame elements.

Abstract: A modular constructed surgical motor with an outer cylindrical case used as the handle, and a spaced inner motor case resiliently mounted thereto forms an air gap for reducing vibrations and heat, a separate module houses the chuck, a ball coupling made from an elastomeric material transmits rotary motion, undercuts in the spindle adjacent the vanes and in the peripheral edge enhance power, the inlet opening to the vanes are positioned to increase the volume of inlet air, the inner surface of the cylinder is contoured to define a crescent seal, the inlet and outlet to the spindle are positioned in the cylinder to increase the power stroke, the discharge holes in the cylinder are oriented for uniform contact surface, the flow passages in the cylinder cool the cylinder and bearing, and one seal cured in situ and another seal adjacent the bearing prevent leakage of oil into ambient and the surgical tool.

Abstract: A needle bearing is designed for a high speed drill or MDA surgical instruments that include alternate rollers made from metallic and plastic or synthetic material mounted in the bore of the housing of the drill or MDA and the shaft being supported by the needle bearing. The inner race, outer race and/or cage may be eliminated from the assembly.

Abstract: The rotary motion created by a motor is transmitted from the drive shaft of the motor to the driven shaft through a pair of diametrically opposed balls fitted into a coupling mechanism attached to the drive shaft and through a pin fitted into holes formed in the opposed balls and through the driven shaft disposed between the opposed balls for eliminating vibration and noise. The thrust loads imposed in the structure supporting the motor is directed to bypass the motor through a bearing supporting the driven shaft through its housing and into the outer housing surrounding the motor. The motor is encased in a cartridge disposed in a central cavity of the outer housing and the cartridge is not rigidly attached to the outer housing so that the thrust loads bypass the motor.

Abstract: A surgical pneumatic motor is designed to be used with or without an MRI machine without affecting or influencing the magnetic characteristic of the MRI machine. The motor includes an improved vane motor with undercuts in the spindle to increase the power faces of the vanes and spindle itself, the holes in the cylinder are modified to increase the sealing area between the spindle. The inlet cylindrical holes and the cylinder holes and grooves are arranged to enhance the life . Wear of the edge of the vanes is decreased by the judicious location of the discharge holes. The bearings are cooled by bypassing a portion of cylinder air before re-entering the air. The noise is attenuated by a cris-cross plug in the hose the temperature of the handle is reduced by a serrated sleeve. Slipping discs in the seal serves to enhance seal life.

Abstract: A seal for an attachment to a surgical motor is provided by cutting threads into the inner surface of the nose cone of the attachment whereby the helical wound threads are in a direction opposite to the direction of the rotating shaft of the instrument being supported by the attachment. The motor can likewise by configured to define a seal where an attachment is not being utilized.

Abstract: The airfoil of fan/compressor and turbine rotors is constructed to include a leading edge that is detachable. The leading edge includes an airfoil section and an attachment that is adapted to fit into a complementary groove formed in the rotor disk. The detachable leading edge is efficacious in integrated bladed rotor (IBR or BLISK) designs because damage to the leading edge can be fixed by either removing the leading edge and repairing it or replacing it without having to disturb the remaining portion of the IBR.

Abstract: In one embodiment the raingear is housed in a pocket located on the top of the backpack so as to allow the wearer to reach over his shoulders to grab hold of a portion of the raingear and lift it out of the pocket and allow it to drape over the entire body of the wearer and backpack. The raingear includes an attachment to the backpack so that it stays attached to the backpack to assure that the raingear will be returned to the pocket. The other embodiment houses the raingear in its own self-contained package that is attachable to the backpack or jacket of a fishing or hunting jacket and the like. The donning and the attachment of the raingear is substantially identical to the first embodiment.

Abstract: A cris-cross pattern of flow channels serves to divide the flow of fluid and then cross the flow to cause an impact between the flow in each channel to impact against each other to reduce the decibels and noise level created by the flowing of the fluid. In a pneumatic surgical drill the spent air used to power the vane motor is diverted so that the flow of is divided in separate flow paths that cross to allow the air that flows from one of the divided channels impinges on the air flowing from the other of the divided channels. In one embodiment the divided channels or flow passageways is formed in the end cap of the housing of a pneumatic surgical drill and in another embodiment the flow diverter with the divided passageways or channels is formed in a plug the fits into the coaxial hose that connects to the housing of the pneumatic surgical drill.

Abstract: A closed cycle recuperator microturbine and an open cycle heat generating system for supplying heat for driving the turbine includes a pair of valves fluidly connected to the compressor inlet and compressor outlet for bleeding air therefrom when the microturbine engine is operating in the lower power operating envelope of the operating conditions of the microturbine engine while the open cycle heat generating system maintains the thermodynamic conditions of the microturbine engine operating substantially a constant value whereby the fuel consumption of the microturbine engine is enhanced during the low power conditions. The microturbine engine serves to power an electric generator and a ECU heater.

Abstract: A cylinder to a vane motor is designed to include cylindrically shaped inlet and outlet holes, an axial passage that includes a blocked upstream portion that bypasses the upstream inlet holes, spaced circumferentially slots for leading a portion of the pressurized air into the inlet holes, discharging the portion of pressurized air from the axial passage into an annular cavity to bathe the bearing in the cooler pressurized air, and recirculating the portion of pressurized air through another axial passageway to flow into all of the inlet holes. The discharge holes are judiciously oriented in a particular pattern to assure that the edge of the vanes wear uniformly. The inlet holes are spaced from the pinch point of the spindle to cylinder to permit an increased volume of pressurized air to enter the vane motor and the outlet holes are spaced to maximize the power stroke of the vane motor.

Abstract: The spindle of a vane motor is designed to enhance the power, speed and torque by undercutting the spindle adjacent to the vanes on the power stroke side to increase the working area of the vanes and by adding slots intermediate the vane formed in said spindle and each slot has a working face for accepting pressurized air during the power stroke. The slots are located out of coincidence with the rotating axis of the spindle and the vanes include a contoured bottom edge fitted into the slots so as to enhance its ability to be retracted in opposition to centrifugal force created by the rotating cylinder.

Abstract: A filtration system for cleaning a fluid, typically water, that is contained in a tank having a rounded base and which cleans, during the backwash cycle, the filter media and, in particular, cleans the media in a usually stagnant area found in the rounded base of the tank. Most filtration system include a first pipe array located above the rounded base which provide for backwashing of the upper portion of the tank, but leaves the base area below the first pipe array stagnant and subject to the growth of harmful bacteria. The present invention adds a second array which is located in the base area and therefore is able to clean during the backwash cycle, an area that is left stagnant in most other systems. The second array is configured to follow the contours of the base of the tank to give it a greater cross sectional area than a flat array. This configuration results in greatly improved effectiveness over that provided by the conventional single flat array.

Abstract: A seal for a rotating machine is designed to be operable when set and cured in situ and one seal arrangement includes a washer having a beveled face and a nut having a beveled face axially spaced therefrom and mounted in a housing, the one seal arrangement is mounted between the bevel faces and assembled to be angularly disposed relative to the rotating shaft. The bottom edge defines a lip that defines a minuscule opening allowing only the air from an air/oil mist to leak downstream thereof. Another seal arrangement also set and cured in situ, is mounted adjacent the rotating inner race of a ball bearing so that the reaction from the seals static relationship and the rotating inner race causes the oil of the oil mist to be slung in a direction complementing the centrifugal force while the air flows axially. When the two seals are mounted in tandem the oil does not leak pass the angularly disposed seal.