Parallel-Plate Motorcycle Frame

Martin O’Toole, Revolution Motorcycles, Doylestown, PA

The concept of the parallel-plate framing system is to eliminate the welded tubular frame. The components are made using 3-axis CNC milling, waterjet, and laser-cutting machines. By removing the structural components to the outside of the motorcycle, the strength of the frame increases.

Toxicity Sensor for Homeland Security

Charles Stack, Constant Compliance, Chicago, IL

The AquaCoil™ toxicity biosensor uses the principle that aquatic organisms including bacteria are sensitive to toxins and can detect minute amounts of poison in drinking water, food, and beverages. This allows the instant detection of accidental or deliberate poisoning by monitoring for changes in the organisms’ respiration.

Truck Hitch Ramp

J. Perkins, Newcastle Productions, San Jose, CA

This collapsible ramp connects to the standard hitch mount of a truck for transport, and deploys to create a full-sized walk-up ramp to allow easy loading and unloading of the truck bed. The accordion-style mechanism uses no truck bed cargo space and can be deployed easily.

Living Tissue 3D Rapid Prototyping System

H. Levy, Inventek Co., Brooklyn, NY

This system dispenses and deposits living cells and other materials on a surface to create living tissue. The cells are deposited on a platen in programmed graphic patterns, in one to thousands of cycles.

Home Mole Growth Detection System

John Nagle, Nagle Research, Austin, TX

This device attaches to a computer via USB, and is placed over a mole on the body. A tiny laser and camera capture a 3D triangulation scan of the surface of the mole. The image can be viewed in 3D on the computer screen. The software reminds users to check their moles once per month. The software then does a volumetric calculation to determine if the mole has grown.

Rotorcraft Blade

Thomas Anderson, Anderson Design & Development Corp., Bellport, NY This blade design uses the drag of a rotorcraft’s retreating blades to power the advancing blades, and allows gyrocopters to operate and produce lift at higher attack angles. When the rotor is powered, the blade operates as a standard helicopter, so the trailing edge is always in the up position.

Aaveds Nut

Jason van Gent, Faster Fasteners, Upper Hutt, New Zealand

The Aaveds Nut is an internally threaded fastening device that can slide into place before it is fastened. The fastener uses a bevel on the loading surface that is combined with a bevel on a washer or countersink on the product being fastened. The bevel causes force to be applied to the threads of the fastener.

Handheld Wire Friction Pipe Cutter

C. Pitzer, Pitzer Consulting, El Segundo, CA

This wire friction pipe cutter functions in tight spaces to easily cut sections of pipe for repair or replacement. The cutting mechanism allows a wire with a small end nipple to be wrapped around the pipe to be cut. The end nipple is securely placed into a notch in the tool’s spindle wheel so the wire can be pulled back and forth against the pipe until the pipe is cut through.

Electrically Heated Moist Compress

Al Dawbarn, Arnold Air Force Base, Tullahoma, TN

The electrically heated moist compress uses a small thermofoil heater with Kapton insulation. A 1" diameter thermofoil heater is inserted into a gauze bandage, and the proper voltage is applied to allow the compress to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Quantum Cascade Laser Breath Analysis

David Scott, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA

Recent advances in high-energy quantum cascade laser technology enable the detection of chemical signatures in the breath of patients without the need for blood tests and lab work. The spectrometer can detect chemicals at the partsper- trillion level and can be used for early diagnosis of illnesses.

Fuel-Saving Device for Trucks

J. Colangelo, Carrollton, TX

This device increases the fuel efficiency of long-haul tractor-trailers by reducing the aerodynamic drag of the trailer. The device is an attachment to the back of the trailer that expands only at highway speeds. The device can be extended by electromechanical, hydraulic, or pneumatic means.

Biofuel Bioreactor for Ethanol & Methane Fuel Production

Charles Stack, Constant Compliance, Chicago, IL

The OmniFloat™ is a scalable biological fermenter system that converts sugars, starches, and other organic compounds into ethanol or methane gas. OmniFloat contains yeast that converts sugars into ethanol for blending with gasoline and other vehicle fuels. When used as a waste treatment anaerobic bioreactor, it contains bacteria that convert organic pollutants into biogas.

Fluid Power Rotary Coupling

Grant McGuffey, Springfield, TN

This coupling is an inlet shaft and an outlet shaft with a hydraulic pump coupling the two together. A valve between the inlet and outlet provides a resistance to hydraulic flow. When the resistance is high, power applied to the inlet shaft is transferred to the outlet shaft in proportion to this resistance.

High-Efficiency Fuel Cell System

Paul Tinari, Pacific Institute, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Current fuel-cell automobiles incorporate subsystems, including thermal, energy, and water management. This system replaces these components with a fuel cell/flywheel system.

Cervigage

Ajay Mahajan, Clipius Technologies, Murphysboro, IL

The cervigage is a disposable device for determining cervical os dilation and thickness during the final stages of labor and birth. The device consists of multiple plastic cylinders that fit within each other and can be retracted or compressed. When the cervical os is dilated about 1 to 1.5 cm, the physician manually compresses the device and places it in the dilated os, with the lead exiting the body. The wire is then pulled in as the cervix dilates, and one can see the numbers to a tenth of a centimeter on the sheath.

High-Tech Earthquake Alarm

Terence Howsham, Camarillo, CA

This earthquake alarm fits into a standard 110 VAC outlet. Outputs from the device are sent to a microprocessor that digitally filters out erroneous signals and looks for P-wave seismic motion. When a P-wave is detected, it sounds an audible alarm and turns on a bank of highpower LEDs for low-level lighting.

Energy-Absorption Device

Gaurav Nilakantan, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Soldiers frequently fall victim to the fatal effects of mine blasts underneath armored vehicles. The T-PEAS (Total Protection Energy Absorbing Seat) uses crushable hollow aluminum tubes and honeycomb structures to safeguard the occupant against mine blasts in any direction through plastic work dissipation of incident energy.

Beached Whale Rescue

M. Morris, Chicago, IL

This invention uses long, slim bladders that are pulled by ropes underneath a beached whale and laid out until the other end reaches deep water. The bladders are then staked down and inflated, applying a uniform and consistent lifting pressure on the beach side of the whale, forcing it to slide down the bladders to the sea.

Modular Space Exploration Vehicles (MSEVs)

Leonid Zaychik, Milwaukee, WI

This invention combines the designs of the Apollo spacecraft and the Space Shuttle orbiter to create a modular space exploration vehicle (MSEV) in two models: a half-size ship for delivery of small amounts of cargo to orbital stations and for rescue missions, and a full-size ship for delivery of large amounts of cargo.

Oil Spill Reclaimer

Graeme Scott-Dodd, Falkirk, Scotland

A floating boom encircles and contains an oil spill at sea, and a system reclaims the oil. When in use, one-third of the boom should be above the surface, and two-thirds below. Towards the rear of the boom is a pump system that sucks the surface of the water and the oil from inside the boom.

Foot-Free Furrow

Michael Pilotti, Highland, MI

The Free Stand combines a shovel or posthole digger, an auto body dent puller (slide hammer), and a kickstand to create a virtually foot- and leg-free shovel that can be used just with the hands. It pivots as the shovel drives into the ground, while holding the shovel in place.

Road Record

Bill Hanson, Plainfield, Sturgeon Bay, WI

The Road Record is a castable section of concrete with grooves spaced like the grooves on a record. When car tires roll over the grooves, the grooves play back a casted message, such as “slow down” or “turn ahead,” just like the needle on a record.

Tubular Screw

Joaquim Santos, Mafra, Lisbon, Portugal

Tubular screws with an inner threading provide greater fastening power. A circular tip like a hole saw makes drilling and screwing more stable, avoids flying screw tips, and self-drilling/ threading could become the norm for a larger group of materials and fastening depths.

Motorized Pulley

Gerrot van der Graaf, Veenhaen, Zwartsluis, Netherlands

A motorized pulley features a power supply and a gearbox design that consists of only one stage. The electric motor drives the gearbox, which drives the outer shell. The shell drives a conveyor belt and is supported by two bearings located on the station shafts, one at each side of the conveyor frame and clamped on the square flats.

Spine Reconstruction Technology

David Bauer, Bauer Electronics, Arnold, MO

The system is composed of a vertebral replacement system, as well as a synthetic disc and a posterior device to protect the spinal canal. The system consists of a composite spring, synthetic disc, composite screws, and the posterior device.

Hydristor Retrofit

Thomas E. Kasmer, Johnson City, NY

The Hydristor is an improvement on the dual-pressure balanced hydraulic pump. The system is a rotor with slots containing radially movable solid vanes spring-loaded to move out to contact the inner diameter surface of a flexible belt, with multiple contact friction causing the flexible belt to rotate with the rotor and vanes. The assembly is completely immersed in hydraulic oil so that four pistons jointly contact the outer diameter surface of the rotating flexible belt.

Airjet

Cain Piotrowski, Farmington Hills, MI

The Airjet is an air freshener that takes unwanted methane and bacteria from a toilet and converts it to fresh, filtered, scented, heated-oil air. The electric turbines create a vacuum, eliminating uncomfortable public or private restroom visits.

Aircraft Emergency Thrust Vector Control System

W. Plumpe, Gateway Space Transport, Webster Groves, MO

This system provides an airliner with an alternate means of control should the primary controls fail. It consists of movable vanes installed in the exhaust pipes of the jet engines, and the associated control electronics. The system provides a means to pitch, roll, or yaw the aircraft so it can be flown to an emergency landing.

Self-Sort Recycle Bin

Nathan Carlson, Pocatello, ID

The Self-Sort Recycle Bin has three methods of sorting: (1) Using a laser scanner to sort the items by UPC barcode; (2) RFID (radio frequency identification) tags to sort items; and (3) For items not marked with RFID tags or UPC codes, the bin will have buttons that allow the consumer to direct the refuse manually.

Electric-Driven Water-Powered Engine

Loretto Abrenica, GE Aviation,

Cincinnati, OH

For this engine, water is pumped when an electric motor starts driving a centrifugal pump through a series of venturi-type nozzles. A vacuum is then formed through chambers, creating an additional suction from the main water tank, and creating the extra push needed to move the turbine-type blades.