Abstract: Improvements in a catch and drain pan for a water heater is disclosed. The improvement includes an immersion resistant water heater support having a fixed or an adjustable leveling capability. The water heater Lifesaver support fits on the water heater support stand/area or inside a catch drain basing to elevate the water heater weight supporting base or metal legs above any standing water. The water heater Lifesaver support is also fabricated to level an uneven water heater to bring the water heater to a vertical orientation. The adjustable water heater support uses a sandwich of two supports in a cam configuration that are indexable in a plurality of finite engagement positions to slightly alter the vertical orientation of the water heater to account for variations and or horizontal orientation of the water heater mounting surface.

Abstract: Improvements in an animal leash are disclosed. The leash is present invention relates to a leash for an animal such as a dog that leaves the owners hands free. The leash is wrapped around the wrist of a user and includes a pocket for keys, money, ID and or credit card. The leash is made from a fixed rope or belting material or can be made from a stretchable or coiled material or a combination thereof. The leash is secured on the user with a removable fastening system that allows the user to adjust the diameter of the strap around their wrist to allow the user to jog or walk without holding the leash. The securing system can also be adjustable to different degrees of break-away force to prevent damage to a user or animal if the user or the tethered animal becomes stopped or restrained.

Abstract: Accurate methods to model the precipitation rate, water delivery spatial distribution, and distribution uniformity for irrigation systems for landscapes are described. A relatively small set of test data is fitted to empirical and physics-based formulas. This permits the extrapolation of test data for an irrigation system with sprinklers being used with any arbitrary specification of operational and environmental variables. The operational variables are the pressure at the sprinkler head, sprinkler model and nozzle choice, range of arc operation, throw adjustment, head tilt, run time, and spatial position. The environmental variables are the wind profile and three-dimensional terrain topology. The; invention predicts the surface distributions and the three-dimension spatial distributions.

Abstract: A combination light and sound producing fixture and combination screw-in light with speakers element is disclosed where the fixture is installed in a wall or ceiling or on a wall or ceiling. The light bulb/speaker can be screwed or secured into a standard light bulb socket. The sound producing elements is a coaxial arrangement of speakers having a low frequency transducer and one or more high frequency transducers that can be directed to emit sound in a particular direction. The fixture or bulb may further include digital signal processing to modify the sound to account for obstructions in or near the fixture. The surface of the sound transducer can be reflective in nature to provide focusing or diffusion of the light from the lighting elements. The lighting elements are incandescent, fluorescent or low voltage LED type that may include adjustment for lighting intensity and color.

Abstract: Improvements in a torque limiter that uses a plurality of ball bearings that are retained in a cage. The ball bearings are compressed to create frictional drag on opposing flat plate surfaces. In some military vehicles the gun turret is rotated by personnel turning a crank that rotates the turret. The crank rotates a pinion or chain that turns the rack of the turret. When the turret does not move freely the personnel will typically apply more force that results in damaging the pinion, chain and or the rack. The torque limiter for a gun turret in this application connects between the crank and the drive train to allow the crank to turn without applying excessive torque forces on the pinion, chain and or the rack.

Abstract: A pneumatic hybrid turbo transmission for reduced energy consumption is disclosed. A pneumatic hybrid turbo transmission configured as a multi-purpose unit (MPU). The MPU recovers energy from the cooling system, exhaust system, ram pressure and the breaking system. The MPU unit is an automatic transmission, supercharger, air compressor for other uses, and starter for the engine using a multi-purpose unit that will eliminate the need for a torque converter or clutch, flywheel, catalytic converter, starter and supercharger. The MPU reduces pollution to near zero and reduces the aerodynamic drag coefficient on the vehicle. The MPU uses two or more in-line compressors to transfer power from the power source, such as an internal combustion engine (ICE) to a turbine or multi-stage turbine that acts as an automatic transmission. The pneumatic hybrid turbo transmission system uses plug-in power as a second source of power.

Abstract: Improvements in a gas powered engine. Said improvements include use of a piston with a fixed piston arm that extends through a seal in the lower portion of the cylinder. In this proposal of four-stroke engine, the down chamber is used as supercharger for the upper chamber cylinder engine. In this proposed two-stroke engine the down chamber is used as a compressor chamber and the compressed air passes to the upper chamber. The piston arm operates on an elliptical crank that drives the output shaft. Valves that move air and exhaust into and out of the pistons are lifted by a cam located on the crank. A unique oil injector passes oil between the rings when the piston is in at the bottom of the stroke.

Abstract: A disc brake assembly includes a rotor, a caliper, brake pads and an optional filter. The optional filter can be disposed within a shroud which covers at least about 70% of the distal side periphery on at least one of the two sides of the rotor. The disc brake also includes an impeller or other means for providing air flow to the disc brake assembly. The impeller can be provided by the rotor itself or it can be provided by a separate component which is powered either directly or indirectly by the rotor.

Abstract: A remote electronic notarization system for remote electronic verification, authentication and screening of potential signatories for remote electronic notary transactions via a remote pc encrypted platform that communicates over a digital broadband or WIFI cellular/PDA device or portable pc device is presented in this disclosure. The system implements electronic components including electronic signature devices, digital certificates, electronic documents, electronic biometric devices, electronic audio/visual software/hardware, electronic payment systems and devices for human interface and verification. The electronic components are electronically synchronized to allow remote notary publics to execute remote electronic notary transactions via a satellite kiosk network or an on-line virtual kiosk application.