Abstract: An accessory wand handle for use on existing control wands. An elongated handle with a bore is fitted over the end of an existing wand for blinds. The handle is secured on the existing wand by a frictional fit between the outside surface of the existing wand and the inner surface of the bore in the accessory wand handle. The wand handle is larger than a wand to provide a mechanical advantage for users to turn the wand. The wand handle itself can be constructed to compliment the appearance of the wand. There is sufficient space between the wand and the walls of the bore for placement of decorative items. The handle itself may be decorated or inscribed with logo or other promotional materials.

Abstract: A lift apparatus to deploy from a storage position in a ceiling to a working position supported by the floor of a room below the ceiling where the lift apparatus is stored. A electrically motor powered drive raises a lift platform and lowers a lift platform to carry items from the room to an attic above the room. Controls are used to deploy the lift apparatus and to operate the lift platform on the lift apparatus. Preferred method of operating the lift apparatus is an acme screw drive which provides an appropriate mechanical advantage reducing the size of the motor required, but also will prevent downward movement either of the lift apparatus during the deployment procedure or of the lift platform while moving items from the attic to the room below the attic or from the room below the attic to the attic. The lift apparatus is supported by the floor and does not require any special bracing or strengthening of floor joists.

Abstract: A target pattern recognition and matching game using a game box, game slats, and a target pattern. A user is provided with multiple game slats and a game box. There is a predetermined target pattern which a user then tries to match by adding or removing game slats from the game box. The pattern may have multiple rows and columns and be matched by the display in display box of the game slats having the same number of rows and columns. Typically, the front of the game box will be transparent and the rear of the game box will be a predetermined color and then may appear on the target pattern and on portions on the game slats used to play the game. The rules of the game and the apparatus of the game may be adjusted to provide a very simply played game for young children or people who have mental impairments to much more complex patterns to provide a much more challenging game for advanced players. It may be played electronically on a computer or using a game program.

Abstract: An arm protection apparatus for a patient's arms when the patient is in a prone or supine position. An injured party who is unable to voice complaints of pain or pressure may be positioned on an operating table or on a stretcher. The patient may be unconscious. There is a risk of injury to a patient's arm unless the patient's arm is secured in a safe positioned and cushioned from outside pressure. The arm protection apparatus involves a central pad, which is positioned under a patient's body. Sections come off the central pad, which may be positioned around a patient's arm. Ordinarily, a patient's upper arm and lower arm will both be contained within separate sections that are attached to the central portion of the pad. The pad will be constructed of a soft foam-like material, which is radiolucent and easily folded or cut as need be. The pad will ordinarily be disposable and discarded after one use and can be packaged and stored in a sterile container.

Abstract: A training toy and exercise device. A large frame supports a rear wheel and a front wheel. The front wheel is mounted in sized openings in the frame and is controlled by a handle bar. There are no pedals, chains, cranks controlling the operation of the device. A user will sit on the seat and use the user's legs to propel oneself unless the user is coasting. Under those circumstances the user's legs will rest on pegs. The device will find its primary use as a toy for small children who have not yet learned to ride a bicycle. Using this device a child can learn to ride a bicycle and balance himself on a two wheeled vehicle without concern for falling since at anytime the child's legs readily reach the ground given the vehicle's small size and low center of gravity.

Abstract: A nutritional supplement composition that promotes visual health and reduces or reverses visual acuity loss by a reduced Vitamin E content from standard supplements with the addition of taurine, omega-3 fatty acids, and non proform Vitamin A carotenoids including lutein and zeaxanthin. The essential ingredients of the nutritional or dietary supplements are Vitamin C, no more than 300 IUs of Vitamin E, Vitamin A at least a portion of which is provided in the form of a proform Vitamin A carotenoid, omega-3 fatty acids, and non proform Vitamin A carotenoids including lutein and/or zeaxanthin. The essential ingredients are provided in a form suitable of oral ingestion or other forms of administration in one or more doses per day.

Abstract: An improved ocarina for providing improved tonal quality with better maintenance of said tonal quality. Ocarinas are generally oval in shape with finger holes on one side and thumb holes on the other side of the ocarina, with a windway and a sound hole called a “voicing”. A user blows into the voicing, creating a tone which varies depending on whether the fingers and thumbs are over the finger holes or thumb holes. Partitions are placed inside of said ocarina between said thumb hole and said sound hole which are customarily located on the same side of the ocarina. Partitions are located close to the thumb holes and distal from the sound hole. In the improved ocarina, a user may open the thumb hole without significant loss of tonal quality, unlike a standard ocarina where opening of the thumb holes ordinarily results in a decreased tonal quality.

Abstract: A pool skimmer to operate independently of a pool filter pump. A pool skimmer has a bucket assembly similar to pool skimmers that use the filter pump to create a suction to draw and hold surface floating debris inside the pool skimmer where the debris can be removed from the bucket assembly and emptied. However, instead of using the pool filter pump, a sealed electrical pump assembly uses a rotatable magnetic assembly inside the sealed pump body. A magnetic impeller fits within the pump body and rotates in response to rotation of the magnetic assembly inside the sealed pump body. This creates a water flow forcing water out of the bucket assembly in contrast to using a filter pump to suck water through the bucket assembly as in conventional technology. Because each pool skimmer operates independently of others and of the filter pump, they may be located without regard to filter pump efficiencies. Moreover, the suction created is not enough to create a health hazard for users, especially small children.

Abstract: A wrist mounted inflatable floatation device to provide temporary floatation support for a swimmer, boater, wader, or other person who is in the water. A wrist mounted floatation device is conveniently worn when someone is in the water or on a boat. It is attached to the wrist by a wrist strap which is adjusted for a snug fit around wrists of a variety of sizes. Mounted on said wrist strap is a deflated and folded inflatable bladder. Also mounted on said wrist strap are means for inflating said inflatable bladder when need for a floatation device presents itself to a user. The means can be high-tech gas storage devices, such as carbon nanotubes or chemicals, that when triggered produce a chemical reaction to produce either a gas or a gas filled polymer material, or a simple inflation tube and check valve, which allows a user to manually inflate the bladder. The bladder is attached to the wrist strap by a cord. When inflated, the bladder detaches from the wrist but remains attached to the wrist by the cord.

Abstract: An adjustable support bracket to be used in combination with a support pier or post to support a structure subject to weights or loads. A support pier is placed in proximity to a surface requiring support. At the end of the support pier, in proximity to the surface requiring support, a generally rigid flat surface is placed. On that flat surface are a plurality of support bolts generally perpendicular to the flat surface. The bolts are threaded and are provided with locking nuts. A matching second flat surface is placed above the first flat surface and between the first flat surface and the structure requiring support. A plurality of sleeves are on the second flat surface. The sleeves are sized and shaped for receipt of the support bolts on the first flat surface. The sleeves are slipped over the bolts on the first flat surface, leaving a space between the first and second flat surfaces.

Abstract: A reel based game that requires skill, fast reflexes, good memory, and strategy to play well. In the preferred embodiment, a video screen is used to electronically display the apparent rotation of several reels. A player presses a stop button to stop the rotation of the reels. If a player can stop a symbol on the reel in a required location on the screen, then the player is rewarded according to a pre-determined table of rewards. In an electronic version of the game, there can be a bonus symbol that allows a player to enter a bonus round where rewards are higher. A player can use concentration and memory to increase the likelihood of successfully stopping desired symbols in the appropriate location by recognizing what symbols appear in what order on the reels. In an electronic version of the game, the symbols will be periodically shuffled on the reel to renew the challenge for a player.

Abstract: An adjustable moveable support for an existing drywall sander. A plurality of legs are centrally mounted and extend from a collar to rotating caster wheels which rest on a floor. The caster wheels allow for movement of the moveable support. Extending through the collar is a vertical boom with a mounting sleeve at one end of the vertical boom. An existing pole-like drywall sander may be mounted in the mounting sleeve. The height of the vertical boom may be adjusted to place the existing drywall sander in proximity to a drywall surface to be sanded. Control handles mounted on the legs allow an operator to engage the sander on the drywall sander on the drywall surface to be sanded. The caster wheels allow the device to be readily moved to appropriately sand seams or other surfaces in the drywall. A control handle may be mounted on either side of the adjustable support so that it may be used with equal ease by left-handed or right-handed users.

Abstract: A computerized record keeping system and method using a network to keep records that cannot be erased by a user thereby guaranteeing the accuracy of records kept with the system. A client computer system contacts, through a computer network, a server system which stores a client database accessible by a password. The client system can review, search, and add records to the database. The client database on the server system is automatically backed-up to avoid inadvertent loss of records or data. Once a record is entered into the server system through the client system, it is permanently stored in the server system as a part of the client database. While a client system may enter a modified record, the original record is always maintained and displayed with the now modified record.

Abstract: A customer-controlled method of stuffing a toy which provides a multi-media interactive experience for a customer that enhances the overall pleasure of purchasing a stuffed toy. A tangible embodiment of a personality is chosen by a purchaser. The tangible embodiment of a personality is physically incorporated into a stuffed toy form. The stuffing is blown into the stuffed toy form and the stuffing process is, in part, controlled by a purchaser while providing a multi-media experience including music, lights, decorations, and pressurized air. A pressure pad is controlled by a customer's feet which activates the stuffing process. The stuffed toy is taken to a separate room where a multi-media light show using special glass, lasers, and other light effects apparently bring the toy to life in response to actions of the customer.

Abstract: A fly casting training device to attach to the end of a fly rod and to teach the proper acceleration and deceleration movement required to produce a “tight loop” fly cast. A fly cast training device is attached to the end of a fly rod and secures a throwing projectile in place. When a proper casting motion is made by the user, which involves a sudden acceleration and deceleration, the throwing projectile is thrown off the end of the rod approximately parallel to the ground. The throwing projectile can be designed to approximate the characteristics of a particular type of fly line and to carry about the same distance as a cast made with that type of fly line. If an improper motion is made, the throwing projectile either is thrown toward the ground at a steep angle or is thrown upward at a steep angle. A user practicing with the fly cast training device receives immediate feedback telling the user if either the proper or improper casting motion has been made, hence can teach the proper casting motion.

Abstract: A physiological stress testing method and apparatus which provides customized exercise routines that allows an individual to exercise at their own rate, while still challenging the individual to achieve maximal desirable heart rates and exercise stress loads. An apparatus that provides at the user's option to use different major muscle groups, but without requiring weight bearing on joints. A gradually increasing work load is applied. The work load applied by the apparatus is the same regardless of the speed or efficiency at which a patient operates the apparatus. This maximizes a user's opportunity to reach a desired physiological stress level either in a stress testing context or in an exercise context. The apparatus ordinarily will use an electromagnetic resistance unit and a controller with a central processing unit to adjust the resistance to control the work load.

Abstract: A device secured to a submersible portion of a boat lift to stabilize the submersible portion of the boat lift from unwanted lateral movement. Elongated pipe-like devices are attached to a submersible portion of a boat lift in proximity to a piling. The device is mounted to the submersible portion of a boat lift so that movement caused by wind, wave, or current action that would force the submersible boat lift into lateral motion will be stopped by the pipe-like device, which comes into contact with the piling before the lateral motion becomes so large as to be undesirable.