Abstract: A collector of solar energy has, in cross-section, the profile of a nested, truncated and inverted trough which is formed as an array of concentric annular conic frusta. The array ascends from a base, defined by the outermost frustum, to a vertex defined by the innermost frustum. The collector is disposed intermediate the Sun and an absorber of solar energy. The collector is operatively connected with Sun-tracking means for movement in a predetermined direction and through a predetermined distance relative to the center of the remote absorber. The frusta have reflective inner surfaces, each of which is defined by a singular and unique parabola. Light incident upon the surfaces is transmitted by a single reflection, through the openings at the base of the trough, onto a common focus located at the absorber for the optimal concentration of the collected radiation which may be utilized as thermal energy or converted into other useful forms of energy.

Abstract: A hand-held fruit picker comprises an elongated rigid tube which is surmounted at one end by a cylindrical lattice cage coaxially communicating with the tube bore. A double-bladed knife which is slidably supported on the top of the lattice cage proximate to fruit-stem receiving channels, is constrained to move reciprocally in a plane perpendicular to the tube and lattice axes. Force transmitting means connect the knife with a pivotable lever that is mounted in a handle attached to the exterior of the tube. When the lever is squeezed against the handle the knife is retracted a distance sufficient to move the cutting edges of the knife blades across the channels and to slice through fruit stems held therein. The severed fruit falls into the tube and a flexible chute which depends from the lower end of the tube, and from which the fruit can be discharged into a container on the ground.