Abstract: A submerged vehicle extraction method employing a specifically designed apparatus known as the submerged vehicle extractor. The primary purpose of the submerged vehicle extractor is to facilitate the transferring of a vehicle that has broken through the frozen surface of a body of water from the water to the solid upper surface of the ice during the vehicle recovery process. This is done through the use of an elongate frame having a center pivot point and a winch. The sunken vehicle engages the extractor through the use of the winch and is then moved from the water to ice level via the extractors teeter totter type movement. Additionally, the use of the present invention also minimizes the stresses placed on the vehicle during the extraction process as the entire weight of the vehicle in this stressful operation is carried by the present invention through the frame of the vehicle.

Abstract: A row following apparatus that attaches to the forward portion of the frame of a tractor towed harvester or cultivator which operates to monitor and adjust the position of the harverster. The row following apparatus uses a pair of pivotally attached sensing feet for following the crop rows. These sensing feet are attached to the frame of the present invention by a pair of automotive style ball joints. The use of the ball joints allows the pivotal movement of the sensing feet in a 360 degree manor that is unattainable with other methods of attachment.

Abstract: A communication device is provided which is intended to aid farm workers in the coordination of harvesting and hauling vehicles in the field during crop harvesting operations. This communication device consists of a transmitter and receiver which are mounted at convenient points within the harvesting vehicle and produce hauling truck respectively. The receiver contains four lighted directional arrows representing directional changes of forwards, backwards, left, and right. The transmitter contains four buttons that correspond in location and function to the directional arrows on the receiver. Thus, when a button on the transmitter is depressed by the harvester operator, the corresponding directional arrow on the receiver will light up signaling the truck driver to make a change in the position of his truck relative to the harvester.

Abstract: A method of cutting seed potatoes prior to their planting is provided in which a high pressure water jet is employed to slice the potatoes into the desired sized pieces. The present invention employs a single water jet, a plurality of water jets, or a cutting tube configuration containing either single or multiple water jet streams which are projected through the center of the cutting tubes or the cutting area and an equal amount of stream collector tube or tubes which contain the jet or jets and collects and directs the spent water to a proper location for its final collection or final discharge. Additionally, the use of this water jet system ensures that the seed potatoes that are cut will not contaminate one another through the cutting instrument as the water used in the cutting process only comes into contact with one potato and is then discharged from the system.

Abstract: A method of repairing concrete slabs that have become uneven and dangerous is provided that employs lime sludge that is injected under pressure into the space between the lower surface of the damaged concrete slab and the underlying ground to raise that slab back into a level orientation. Once this has been accomplished, any remaining space below the slab is filled in with well dried sand blown in under pressure.

Abstract: This torque compensating track drive is designed to provide track drive vehicles with an undercarriage that distributes the weight of the vehicle over the greatest possible area and also ensures that as much of the drive track is in contact with the surface as possible in all driving situations.

Abstract: This actuated ski suspension provides a method of raising and lowering a vehicle to which it is attached by raising and lowering the ski assembly in a vertical plane. Additionally, the process of raising and lowering the vehicle also incorporates a mechanism which effectively breaks frozen skis loose from the surface of snow or ice without causing damage to the skis and without requiring effort from the operator.

Abstract: A wide ski-like apparatus is provided that can be easily and quickly attached to the axle, or axles, of the larger sized icehouses and trailers in common use today. This is accomplished by the use of a ski-like apparatus that is attached to a wheel rim that corresponds in size and lug pattern to existing rims. A second embodiment attaches directly to the wheels of the trailer or icehouse. The use of skis on snow covered or icy surfaces reduces the amount of friction created by movement of the icehouse and thus, makes it easier to move it into position on the lake or river's frozen surface.

Abstract: A resin atomizer unit is provided that is constructed from a variety of ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) plastics. The use of these materials benefits in the construction of a resin atomizer by reducing the resin's tendency to adhere to the critical surfaces during operation. These materials also have the beneficial quality of resisting the abrasive nature of the resin. Another benefit of the use of the materials herein described in the construction of the present invention is that they also lessen its overall weight which makes any maintenance that may be required much easier. Finally, the quick release method of attaching the individual resin atomizers also enhances the ease by which they can be serviced and thereby leads to greater efficiencies in their use.

Abstract: A frame apparatus that fits on the loader arms of a skid steer front loader. This frame apparatus serves as a platform upon which a plurality of hydraulically driven tools can be employed to grasp, lift, rotate, and transport heavy objects such as oil drums and telephone poles. The hydraulically driven tools are designed in a manner that allows them to be easily installed on, and removed from, the frame apparatus by one person. This is accomplished by having a frame member as part of the tool that slides over the end of the attached frame apparatus and is held in place by passing a pin through both of the attached frame members.

Abstract: A loading ramp structure is provided which is constructed out of a plurality of relatively small and rectangular links that are joined end to end to form a span of any desired length. The manner in which these links are joined together allows the span to be rolled up for storage when it is not in use and to be unrolled to form a ridged span when it is to be employed in the loading or unloading of wheeled load materials such as small supplementary vehicles.

Abstract: This plastic bag drying apparatus is comprised of a rectangularly shaped tray having front and rear tine assemblies which are comprised of a laterally oriented pivotally mounted tine bases. The inner portions of the tine bases are equipped with a plurality of bag tines that extend perpendicularly therefrom in a manner so that extend in a parallel fashion away from the center of rotation defined by the tine bases. The positions of the tine assemblies with respect to one another spaces the individual bag tines so that the distance between those positioned on the front tine assembly with respect to those on the rear tine assembly equals the width of the plastic storage bags to be dried.

Abstract: A folding frame apparatus is provided that contains a removable and pivoting rod clamp employed to hold a ice fishing jig rod in the desired position, and is designed in a manner that it can be used with almost all of the ice fishing jig rods on the market today. The frame of the present invention is constructed in a manner that all joints are pivotal in nature which allows the frame to be opened or closed as desired by the user. The present invention is also equipped with a signal flag assembly which, when a fish takes the bait, causes the flag to move to an upright position and alerts the fisherman to the presence of a fish.

Abstract: A method of producing three-dimensional copies of individual human faces and heads is provided that employs a method of production in which all of the components except for the face area are standardized. This method of construction vastly reduces the costs involved in the production of these types of models and allows for the generation of three-dimensional models of individual faces at costs that will make them available to a greater portion of the population as a whole.

Abstract: A wheelchair accessible amusement ride having a solid non-moving base to which a body that rocks back and forth on the base is mounted. The interior of the body is supplied with a seat that may move between a first position for use with able bodied children who may sit in the seat and operate the controls of the ride and a second forward stowed position allowing the interior compartment to give access to a wheelchair and wheelchair bound individual. The seat is mounted to a series of rails allowing the seat to easily be moved and locked between the two positions. The device is further equipped with a rear gate that may be dropped and used as a ramp to load a wheelchair and wheelchair bound individual into the device prior to closing the gate and containing the wheelchair and handicapped individual for the ride, thus allowing wheelchair bound children the same chance to have experience with these rides as able bodies children and adults.

Abstract: A reduced drag marine vessel providing a mechanism that will reduce or even eliminate the drag along the water-solid interface at the hull of the marine vessel. This mechanism is made up of a revolving elastic shell which is similar to a donut shaped belt. This belt forms an interior volume which houses rollers and a framework to support the tubular belt which can be further inflated with a gas to counter the hydraulic pressure of the water outside. Finally, this belt may be housed within a rigid outer tubular shell and contain a propeller within its center so as to form a marine nozzle.

Abstract: A spring trap setting device that is made up of a bar type mechanism that has an outer body which is typically a square shaped tubing having an open end with the other end being closed off by a perpendicularly mounted flat foot. The open end of the outer body tube allows the insertion of a square shaped plunger bar into it's interior. The exterior dimensions of the interior plunger bar are slightly smaller than the interior dimensions of the hollow outer body tube which allows the plunger bar to slide freely up and down through the length of the body tube. The interior plunger bar is equipped with a perpendicularly mounted flat foot at its terminal end that acts primarily as a handle used to move the plunger bar up and down. Both the plunger bar and the outer body are equipped with a spring hook. These hooks are orientated such that the V-shaped spring of a trap may be placed between the hooks and through the compression or downward motion of the interior plunger bar.

Abstract: A method of compressing cracked and split beans into useable cakes is provided. This process makes use of beans which have been broken into smaller pieces and are a natural result of the harvest and production methods and are considered undesirable and are separated out and either discarded or used in animal feed. The present invention takes these bean byproducts and combines them with rice, supplemental vitamins and minerals, and a binding agent and forms them into a uniformly shaped bean cake. These cakes can easily be packaged and stored for later shipping to an area where a highly nutritious and readily accessible food source is needed such as famine or disaster stricken locations.