Abstract: A usage monitor is provided for electrical appliances, primarily for televisions, which keeps track of appliance usage during a moving time interval, such as the week immediately prior to the instant moment, and provides a readout of a number of hours per unit time that the device has been on. In the television implementation illustrated and claimed, a power interfacing box is used into which the television plug is inserted, and the box has a key-operated switch which enables the time monitoring to be temporarily deactivated in the event the parents wish to watch some television.

Abstract: A boat or ship's propeller system utilizes a rotary propeller comprised of a plurality of short blade elements arranged annularly and supported from a central propeller shaft by spokes, there being an annular "funnel" with the large end forward which scoops water and delivers it under some pressure to the rotating annular ring of blade elements.

Abstract: A flush-operated bathroom fan is provided which utilizes a float-operated actuator in the water closet tank of the toilet which actuates a switch, turning on the ceiling fan, when the water level in the water closet tank falls indicating that the toilet has been flushed, and when the float rises up again to the normal full-tank water level, the switch is thrown again and the fan is deactivated.

Abstract: An improved paper clip is provided which has three modes of use, one of which enables part of the paper clip to extend beyond the clipped papers for easy removal and visibility of the clip, another is partially hidden but partially extended for use as a bookmark, or the like, and the final embodiment is completely rotated against the papers so that it is essentially completely hidden.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for restraining a pet in the rear seat of a passenger vehicle, and protecting the rear vehicle seat. The apparatus is basically 2 parts, a substantially vertical net stretched across the vehicle just behind the driver's seat, and a quilted cover that covers both the bottom and the backrest of the rear seat, and connects to the vertical net, so that the pet is constrained to the back seat area and the back seat is protected from dirt and scratching and tearing.

Abstract: An eyeglass lens tinting machine which utilizes a microprocessor-controlled stepping motor to carefully control the vertical oscillations of a support structure including a vertical shaft which mounts a horizontal boom which in turn supports an eyeglass lens holder. The lens holder is moved directly up and down (with substantially no horizontal components of movement) by the mechanism. The base which mounts the vertically sliding shaft which supports the boom also mounts the stepping motor and printed circuit board with the microprocessor controller on it. The tinting machine has two basic modes of operation, the solid tint mode in which the lens is lowered beneath the surface of dye in a dye vat and reciprocated completely immersed for a pre-set period of time to create an even, uniform tint.

Abstract: Improvements are provided to the variable duration lifter, and the valve train of which the lifter is a part, which have the effect of reducing the tapping noise of the valves at low RPM, which is characteristic of effective variable duration lifters. This is achieved by utilizing an effective length of the valve train which produces a reduced volume of the oil reservoir defined between the outer cylinder of the lifter and the internal plunger, such that when the engine operates at low RPM, the internal plunger "bottoms out" before the valve seats. This is coupled with a modified cam having a closing ramp which seats the valve more smoothly and quietly than does the conventional ramp.

Abstract: A electrically heated soldering iron for applying heat to a wide variety of miniaturized integrated circuit solder pin row arrangements includes an elongated handle carrying at one end a heating block provided with a pair of tangs between which is seated an elongated soldering blade having a sharp, knife-like operative edge. One of the tangs is removably bolted to the heating block and has a sloped shoulder mating with a cooperating surface on block to permit the tang to move relative to the other tang to accommodate blades of slightly different dimensions while still allowing the removable tang to exert compressive force on the blade as the bolt is tightened. The operative edge of the blade is disposed in the same plane as the handle at an angle of about 135.degree. with the longitudinal handle axis.

Abstract: A theft alarm is provided for a hood ornament utilizing a pair of spaced plugs held apart by a coil spring and retained together by a central hook and threaded post which extend through axial bores through the plugs with the hook extending up through the hole in the hood to engage the hood ornament. The plugs each mount an electrical contact, and when the ornament is deflected, the coil spring is compressed between the plugs, bringing the electrical contacts into contact and setting off an alarm, which ordinarily is the vehicle's horn.

Abstract: A system for equalizing the performance among the cylinders of an internal combustion engine which involves the introduction of increased fuel to under-performing cylinders, and reduced fuel to over-performing cylinders, with the result that the cylinders all perform at a more uniform level. In the first embodiment, this is achieved by means of selecting unit injectors for a diesel engine according to the cranking compression in each cylinder so that cylinders with lower compression receive more fuel. In the second embodiment, in which injectors in either diesel or gasoline engines are controlled by an electronic controller, temperature sensors within the individual cylinders report to the electrical control unit which then operates the injectors to meter the fuel injection such that hotter operating cylinders receive less fuel and cooler cylinders receive more. The engine is then tuned according to the engine manufacturer's standard procedures.

Abstract: A sanitizer for recreational vehicles is interposed between the toilet flush valve and the toilet itself. It utilizes an upright canister which maintains a substantial air pocket to prevent back-flow, there being a charge of sanitizing chemicals in the bottom of the canister which dissolve slowly in the water that is introduced into the canister to flush the toilet. An inverted U-shaped tube introduces the fresh water into the canister, and by virtue of a vertically, downwardly extended length of the U-shaped tube which extends down into the canister, the sloshing of water into a downhill portion of the fresh water system is inhibited.The system overcomes the prior art arrangement in which a charge of chemicals is dumped into the holding tank with every tank flush, and it adds the anti-back-flow or anti-reverse-syphon protection of a three-stage prophylactic.

Abstract: A salinity measuring apparatus utilizes a specialized probe with dual electrode pairs, one of the pairs being used to pass current through the electrolyte, while the other picks up voltage drop across a region in the electrolyte and feeds it back to the current producing amplifier, which adjusts the current output until a stabilized, predetermined voltage difference occurs across the voltage electrodes. The circuit which drives the current between the current electrodes produces a positive pulse, and an ensuing negative pulse, which are sequentially applied across the electrodes so that two separate measurements are made using pulses of opposite polarity to cancel out electrode polarizations. An amplifier circuit receives a pulse from the voltage source and applies it to the electrodes.

Abstract: A pantleg restraining band is provided which is somewhat like a removable cuff for the lower end of the pantleg. The unit will ordinarily come in pairs, and comprises a band, which may be elastic, and which defines spaced, inverted pockets which receive plastic clips to clip onto the pantleg. The band has hook-and-loop fastener material so that it can be wrapped around the bottom of the pantleg and engaged on itself to peg the pants.

Abstract: A structural support is formed from a lattice which is elongated in the direction representing the run of the structural support, and of much smaller dimension such as being two lattice joints across in its other dimensions, with the joints defining the lattice being of a special interlocking construction which creates a quite rigid joint in all dimensions of possible movement without the use of any fasteners or adhesive.

Abstract: A post-operative garment is provided for patients who have just been through lower abdominal, groin, or rectal operations such as Caesarean sections, hemorrhoidectomies, and hernia operations. The garment is somewhat diaper-like, having a soft, absorbent inner portion and an impermeable membrane on the outside. The garment passes through the crotch and expands laterally outwardly both front and rear, with the front and back being fastened to one another up above the abdominal region in the rib cage area. This eliminates the need for belts of the type that are used for sanitary napkins, which cut into the incision area, and also provides a greater degree of privacy for the patient as well as a greater degree of overall comfort.

Abstract: A counter or wall display for cards or brochures is made from a single stamping which is die-cut to define both the perimeter of the unit and at the same time stamp score lines partially through the material to define the hinge lines. The score lines divide the single sheet into connected front, floor and rear panels, and a pair of side panels which hinge rearwardly from the front panel and have edges which interlock with the edges of the rear panel, so that an open-topped box display is formed from a single sheet of planar stock with no fasteners whatsoever.