Entries - 2011

A major problem for many people is getting good sleep. Poor sleep can occur in a home, a hotel or a hospital. Sleep is affected by light, sound, temperature, odor, bed support and sense of security. Another sleep related problem is that electrical control in bedrooms, such as light switches and alarms, are difficult to control in the dark. The Nest is a concept of sleeping apparatus for the 21st century that solves these problems and improves the quality of sleep.

A base supports a mattress of supporting media. The resting media is held in a 4 inch thick ...

Erratic volume is a basic annoyance of television viewing. From commercials increasing in volume to loud scenes in movies, there are times when you need to dive for the volume control. There are several strategies of automatically reducing volume for sudden increases, however, I think most people would rather be able to control it themselves - if they could easily get back to the previously determined comfortable volume.

I propose adding buttons and a set of remote control codes to remotes to allow the current volume to be noted and halved and restored at the push of a button. ...

An intelligent building is a building that is able to monitor and control its own functionalities, according to the building structure, indoor and outdoor environment. The functionalities and their characteristics are directly related to building scope (the activities accomplished by the occupants), but usually are the same. Most of the necessary functionalities have been already determined, and they are mainly for ensuring the minimum energy consumption and the occupants' comfort. Not to forget that the occupants’ productivity is dependent on their comfort. Since a building is related to its occupants, all the functionalities of the building could be determined ...

The smart home of the future has been just out of the consumer’s reach for decades. We constantly read stories about how our homes will turn down the temperature when we leave, turn on the lights when we enter, or call the police and text us when home security has been breached, yet these goals have remained elusive to all but the most tech savvy and wealthy homeowners. Even rudimentary forms of intelligence, such as integrated fire and burglar alarms, can be prohibitively expensive for the average consumer. Therefore, I propose a line of small, cheap, battery powered wireless nodes ...

Changing the fuel source for motor vehicles requires a comprehensive approach because of the already established infrastructure and supply of petroleum based fuels. In addition to the lack of infrastructure, it is recognized that hydrogen fuel will not be commercially viable unless competing against gasoline of well over $4.00 US per US Gallon. Hydrogen fuel is ideal from a pollution control perspective, but not from a BTU content perspective. This proposal seeks to solve these several problems simultaneously.

1. Hydrogen is less energy-dense, and therefore requires that a greater volume of fuel be carried to give the same range ...

With recent explosions of hydrogen in Japanese nuclear plants there is a need for a device that will stop an explosion of hydrogen/oxygen in an enclosed system regardless of the magnitude of the explosion. A Detonation Flame Arrestor (DFA) is designed to extinguish a flame front resulting from an explosion or detonation of a gas in a piping system. However, in addition to extinguishing the flame, the DFA must be capable of dissipating (attenuating) the pressure front that precedes the flame front. The pressure front (shock wave) is associated with the propagation of the flame front through the unburnt ...

Helium is very expensive to use in a dirigible and even in a larger balloon or a non-rigged air ship. Some of us even after all this time since the Hindenburg crashed in flames, consider hydrogen as being dangerous. This is a false reason about not using hydrogen. Today, hydrogen with modern technologies, can be safely used in a dirigible or Zeppelins. It has more lift ability and can be economically generated on the base or most any place else. It should be not ruled out because of a 74 year ago event.

When hydrogen is pure like most ...

Background
Today most all traditional structural floor, wall, and roof assembly materials are present in various forms that have been used individually or in combination with each other being categorized into the following basic categories:

1. Concrete
2. Masonry
3. Steel
4. Wood

Each of these main traditional building materials because of their properties has served a valuable function in the building process. However, used individually or in combination they carry with their use disadvantages in that each requires specific measures of protection in order to satisfy their structural benefit. A main disadvantage to these main building materials used ...

An electric-plasma thruster utilizing Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) technology has a potential application as a low-cost, high-efficiency thruster for Earth orbit maneuvering and interplanetary propulsive operations. The basic concept uses ion acceleration along with jet formation of the resulting plasma. It was originally demonstrated at the University of Illinois (U of I) as part of a fusion neutron source initiative at the school. An electrically driven counterpart of the fusion IEC has been conceived of by staff at NPL Associates, working in collaboration with U of I staff.

The IEC thruster uses a spherical configuration (similar to the classic ...

The microSNIFFER is a portable electronic monitoring device for detecting and reporting potentially hazardous materials.

The benefits of the microSNIFFER are as follows:
Local and remote monitoring; small size; long battery life; gas, liquid and solid monitoring functions; low-cost. This design idea will improve quality of life; facilitate tedious tasks; help prevent injury or death; improve public safety and security; save time; effort and money. For example, enhanced microSNIFFERs could replace drug-sniffing dogs at airports, saving the time and money spent in training the dogs, as well as the effort and expense in acquiring and caring for ...