Abstract: A tool for disconnecting the air and electrical connections between a motor vehicle and a trailer or a utility hookup station includes a handle and a forked member. The trailer connection includes an electrical socket with pins covered by a hinged cover plate; the motor vehicle connection includes a plug member. The forked member of the tool includes a pair of parallel hooks, one at the end of each of two linear elements of the forked member. A sloped interface portion on the forked member of the tool lifts the hinged cover plate away from the trailer's socket. The forked member is placed around the electrical connection adjacent the plug member and is pushed forward to lift the hinged cover plate. Once the hinged cover plate is lifted, the handle is pushed towards the motor vehicle, where the hooks engage lugs on the plug member, thus causing the plug member to separate from the electrical socket. Gripping grooves on the linear elements help to facilitate engagement between the tool and the lugs.
Abstract: A barn system that enables control of the environment inside a closed barn utilizes banks of fans mounted in the opposing side walls of the barn and interior circulation fans in conjunction with misters to maintain the comfort of animals confined in the barn, in particular, milk cows. The interior circulation fans are of the oscillating type that can sweep in a horizontal arc to help the circulation of the air. Movable curtains in the side walls may be raised and lowered to allow for natural ventilation of the barn when outside conditions allow. A number of exhaust fans mounted on the roof ridge line provides for exhaust of the air out the roof, as opposed to the sides as in conventional barns. The fans, misters, operable ridge vents, exhaust fans and curtains are controlled by a central monitoring and control system. A scrubber system for removing VOC's in the exhaust air may be included.
Abstract: The invention is securing apparatus to quickly and efficiently tying a knot or bow to securely wrap a package or parcel. The securing apparatus is configured as a planar element having an opening through it. A number of securing slits extend from the opening. When a person wants to tie a knot or bow in a ribbon, string or twine, he or she places the ends of the ribbon through the opening and secures each end in a slit. Then a person can tie the knot or bow without assistance from another person.
Abstract: An energy re-claimer is provided for preheating water prior to the water entering a conventional residential, commercial or industrial gas water heater. The energy re-claimer is mounted on top of the water heater between the draft diverter and the hot air flue. The energy re-claimer is preferably a double wall construction that is larger in diameter than the draft diverter and hot air flue in order to allow normal passage of hot air through the system; however, a single wall construction may also be used. Tap water enters a pipe inside the double wall construction and is heated prior to being directed through the water heater. The pipe may be constructed of a number of straight lengths connected by returns or may be in the form of a single straight section connected to a coil made of connected curving sections that surround the axis of the energy re-claimer.
Abstract: A self-contained shelter that may be used for survival purposes or recreational activities includes a number of floor panels, a number of which form an enclosure, which may be held together by one or more straps. Inside the enclosure are several more floor panels, an inflatable tent, and life-supporting accessories. The shelter, when the enclosure is secured, may be airdropped or trucked into an area that may have experienced a recent disaster, such as flooding, hurricanes, or earthquakes. For recreational purposes, the shelter may be placed in a motor vehicle. When the straps are released, the floor panels may be attached along their edges to each other to form a raised floor that is placed on a surface. A raised floor provides a buffer between the user of the shelter and the surface, which may be wet or muddy. The tent is inflated and attached to the floor and is supported by external beams and internal braces. The tent forms an air chamber that provides insulation from the outside.
Abstract: A flex-duct end connector for connecting flex-ducting to fittings includes a cylindrical pipe and a pair of clamps configured to be mounted on the outside of the pipe. The outer surface of the pipe and the inner surfaces of the clamps may be provided with an adhesive to improve the connection. Outer wraps attached to the outside of the pipe include an adhesive side and a non-adhesive side. One end of the pipe may be tapered and the other end may include a rubberized coating. To connect the flex-ducting to the fitting, the insulation and outer jacket of the flex-duct is folded back from the liner. The liner slides over one end of the pipe. Adhesive may be provided on the pipe to provide a more secure fit. The clamps, which may also be provided with adhesive, are applied to the liner and pipe. The edges of the clamps overlap so that a fastener may be inserted through the clamps, the liner and the pipe.
Abstract: A bamboo wind power megawatts producer is provided in which the surfaces of rotor blades capture and compress the laminar flowing wind through the turbulent rotor vortex wherein great amounts of energy are extracted from the wind in volumetric quantities within the confines of the housing assembly for rotating the power generators to produce great quantities of megawatts of electric currents after which the exhausted wind is dumped to the low pressure area leeward of the operating rotor assembly.
Abstract: The invention is a tool that may be attached to a computer display screen or built-in with a computer. The tool is mounted to a computer and provides a user with the ability to align the computer display screen with their eye so that the user's line of sight is perpendicular to the display screen, which is the optimal viewing angle for viewing a display screen. In a first embodiment of the invention, the tool includes an interface portion, which is where the tool is attached to the frame of the computer, either temporarily or permanently, and an alignment portion. The first embodiment of the alignment tool may be detached from one computer and used with another. The alignment portion includes a pair of alignment indexes, which, when lined up with the user's eye, ensures that the user is viewing the computer display screen at the optimal angle. In a second embodiment of the alignment tool, the tool is installed as original equipment on the computer.
Abstract: The invention is securing apparatus to quickly and efficiently tying a knot or bow to securely wrap a package or parcel. The securing apparatus is configured as a planar element having an opening through it. A number of securing slits extend from the opening. When a person wants to tie a knot or bow in a ribbon, string or twine, he or she places the ends of the ribbon through the opening and secures each end in a slit. Then a person can tie the knot or bow without assistance from another person.
Abstract: A river power generating apparatus is provided in which a plurality of angular baffles are configured to extract and combine the available energy from flowing river water into a force for rotating an electric generator to 1800 rpm to produce large quantities of electric current without using a hydro-electric dam thereby allowing wild salmon to spawn upstream of the river. The angular baffles can harvest and convert the energy of the ocean currents and tides into great amounts of electric power.