Abstract: A golf ball retriever is attached to the handle of a golf putter and is used to retrieve a golf ball from a playing surface and to concurrently deposit a golf ball marker in place of the golf ball. The apparatus includes a fork rotatably mounted to a support body that is secured to the extremity of the handle of a golf club shaft. The fork has a pair of arms which lie substantially in a common plane and are arcuately curved toward each other. One of the arms is longer than the other. A golf ball marker with a turf-engaging spike is placed on the underside of the body supporting the fork and is held thereto by a magnet within the support body. The fork is moved toward the golf ball while residing at a lifting angle inclined about fifteen degrees downwardly relative to the golf club shaft. The arms of the fork engage the undersurface of the golf ball and cradle it therebetween.

Abstract: A muffler responsive to exhaust flow rate is provided for an internal combustion engine. The muffler includes a body having a variable restrictor located downstream from an inlet port and upstream from an outlet port of the muffler. The variable restrictor includes a valving element with an operative position which varies as a function of engine exhaust flow rate to occlude exhaust gas flow. The variable restrictor is formed with a solid wall disposed about the valving element to define a constricting annular passageway having a cross section that varies with distance from the inlet port and from the outlet port. The passageway cross section for some mufflers will increase in a direction proceeding from the inlet port toward the outlet port, and will decrease proceeding in that same direction in other mufflers, depending upon the type of internal combustion engine employed.

Abstract: A safety handle releasably drives a shaft which is also otherwise powered. The shaft has an axis of rotation and a peripheral engagement band. The safety handle has a frame including a bearing aperture receiving shaft so as to be freely rotatable on and relative to the shaft, a lever arm extending away from the bearing aperture, and pivot means laterally spaced from the aperture. Centering means resiliently bi-directionally biases the drive handle and engagement means towards the centralized position. When the drive handle is grasped and twisted around the handle axis, the engagement means is pivoted to engage the engagement band, enabling torque exerted on the drive handle relative to the shaft axis to turn the shaft, but when the twisting effort is released, the centering means returns the handle and the engagement means to the centralized position, thereby releasing the engagement means from the engagement band and freeing the safety handle for free rotation around and relative to the shaft.

Abstract: A magnetic holding device to be mounted to a magnetizable surface. It includes a body and a magnet having a pair of poles. A first and a second pole piece are mounted to the body adjacent to the magnet, each forming a continuation of a respective one of the poles. Each pole piece is a plurality of elongated magnetizable members in side to side sliding relationship to one another. They project from the body, and their projection is adjustable and selectable by sliding them. Releasable compression means allows for their relative movement when released, and holds them in an adjusted position when set. As optional features, the pole pieces can be magnetized or not, such as by the use an electromagnet or rotatable magnet, and the compression means may be a cam.