Abstract: A bat, golf club or stringed racket has the sweet spot replaced by a ring with a ball-catching net secured to a backside thereof to enable the user to develop the necessary hand-eye coordination to consistently engage the optimum portion of the sporting goods device to contact the ball, thereby improving performance/results.

Abstract: A standing length of untreated deadwood timber, having a 2?-6? diameter and an above ground length of between 3? and 9?, has a flattened face with sets of different diameter holes drilled therein. Colorful ribbons, in addition to the aroma of the decaying deadwood, attract multiple species of native solitary bees to the bee pole to use the holes to lay eggs therein. The pole is planted 1.5 to 2? in soil adjacent fields, gardens or orchards which need pollination.

Abstract: A plurality of modules of sufficiently light weight (<80 lbs) are assembled end-to-end to construct an assembly machine for performing desired operations on a series of workpieces. A supporting spine underlies the interconnected modules and supports them and associated equipment in the desired array. The modular construction permits the assembly machine to be reconfigured as needed should operational alterations require it, including, but not limited to, the cannibalization of the machine with the modules being usable in constructing a machine having entirely different characteristics.

Abstract: A leash for a baby accessory including a bottle or other food/beverage container, toy or the like, has a padded band with a redundant attachment to the shoulder harness strap of a car seat. Similarly, the second attachment strap for attaching to the bottle has a redundant set of latches to ensure that the bottle is held thereby. The strap suspending the bottle has a dangle length of 3? to 5? to maintain the bottle within easy reach of the child obviating intervention by the parent to restore control of the container to the baby. The second attachment strap is provided with a non-slip fabric for engaging the surface of the container. The suspension strap is afforded with interchangeable clips which permit a bottle leash to be converted to a toy leash.

Abstract: A cylindrical composting drum which is 6?, 8?, or 10? in diameter, extends between 40? and 140? in length. The drum is rotated and internal helical blades move the material from inlet end to a screen separator at an outlet end. Partially arcuate solar reflectors underlie the drums and reflect solar energy onto the outer surface of the drums which have been blackened to enhance energy absorption. The use of the available solar energy accelerates the composting process. A microprocessor controls the addition of moisture and the timing and rate of rotation of the drums.

Abstract: A rectangular box closure clip engages the two top flaps of a shipping container holding them securely without damaging the carton enabling the boxes to be reused without the need for being reformulated. The closure clip includes a pair of lower surfaces and a pair of upper surfaces interconnected by a central web that extends substantially throughout the length of the clip. The edges of the two upper surfaces are set back to facilitate insertion into the box. In a second embodiment, a vertically extending endstop is provided to prevent a box stacked atop the clip from sliding axially relative thereto. In still a third embodiment, a recess allows a binder strap to be installed around the clip to retain it in place. A programmable, scanable chip may be incorporated into the closure clip to facilitate tracking and/or to tamper-proof the package.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for pumping molten metal from a reservoir into a preferably bottom-filled mold includes a pair of graphite pump crucibles partially submerged in a reservoir of molten metal. Check valves in the bottom of each crucible enable them to be filled to the same level as the reservoir. A high pressure inert gas supply operating through a pressure regulator, forces the molten metal from one of the crucibles up a riser tube to a horizontally extending runner and through a fill port into the mold. The pressure supply is then connected to the other crucible while the first refills.

Abstract: A watering jug reliably delivers water to a hanging plant, or the like. A manually operable pump sits atop an intake tube; a valve positioned at a juncture between the intake tube and a discharge tube controls the redirecting of the measured amount of water to the distal end of the discharge tube. An optional sprinkling head may be used. A second embodiment features an extension sleeve which measures out a desired amount of water to the plant.

Abstract: A medical backboard for carrying patients is reinforced with 1? bamboo poles extending substantially the length of the board's body on either side adjacent the handles. This board showed greater stiffness and flexibility than similar boards reinforced with carbon fiber rods.

Abstract: A device has a first arm with a cup at a first distal end and a handle at a second proximal end with a second similarly configured arm pivoted thereto. The second cup forms an obtuse angle with its arm. Each of the first and second arms has an slight elbow bend so that the hurling cup trails the handles by a slight amount. Drawing the handles apart in a scissor-opening motion compacts the snow into a cohesive snowball that may then be slung.

Abstract: A workpiece stabilizer having a generally cylindrical body can be inserted in the central opening of a multiple jaw chuck and secured therein by tightening a securement nut onto a threaded rod. The end of the threaded rod can be used to engage and stabilize rod stock during its machining. For machining disk-shaped workpieces, a plurality of radially extending arms can be affixed to the cylindrical body portion and cap screws threaded into any of several recesses in the arms, as a function of the workpiece's diameter, to engage and stabilize the disk.

Abstract: Non-toxic shot having 40-60% tungsten, 20-60% tin and 0-10% iron. A process of formulating the material is disclosed in which 95% by weight of the particles of each component having mesh sizes less than 325 are blended with a flux having 99.9% by weight particles less than 100 mesh. The blended material is then compaction formed into shape at a pressure range of between 20 and 40 tons per square inch. Finally, the blended material is sintered at a temperature in the range of 350 and 425° F. bonding the powdered metals and driving off the flux.

Abstract: A pitching shoe configured to have a size, shape, and weight of a conventional metallic shoe is made of elastomers having specific gravities in the range between 1.8 and 2.0 to enable reintroduction of the sport to correctional facilities and other applications where metallic shoes create too great a risk of injury. Suitable materials include neoprene, natural rubber, SBR, natural/SBR blend, or other natural or synthetic rubbers and rubber blends, and plastics which include high density fillers compounded into or mixed with a base plastic material.