Other

California Institute of Technology

Michael R Hoffman

Nicola J Peill

Oleh Weres

David T Asa

Asghar Aryanfar

Kangwoo Cho

Clement A Cid

Daejung Kwon

Yan Qu

A wastewater treatment system and method for remediating wastewater and human waste that is self-contained and that has no connection to a municipal wastewater system and no connection to an electrical grid. The domestic toilet and wastewater treatment system can be powered by a photovoltaic panel as a source of electricity. The system includes an electrochemical cell that allows a waste stream to be disinfected in a few hours to a condition where no viable bacterial colonies can be cultured. The system produces a liquid stream that is suitable for system flushing or for uses in which non-potable water is acceptable. The system can generate hydrogen as a product that can be used to generate power. The system can generate nitrate, urea, ammonia and phosphate for use as fertilizer. The disinfected residual organic solids are also completely disinfected for potential use as an organic soil amendment for agriculture.

Self-contained, PV-powered domestic toilet and wastewater treatment system

A method in a server computer connected over a network to a group of participants, where each participant operates a client computer. The method receives a payment for each participant in the group, associates the payments received for the group with a time period, calculates a designated portion of each payment, and creates a fund for the time period by combining the designated portions of the payments. The method receives a notification for each participant in a subgroup of the group of participants, where the notification indicates that during the time period an event occurred. The method calculates a portion of the fund to disburse to each participant in the subgroup, and disburses the fund to the participants in the subgroup, where the portion of the fund to disburse to each participant in the subgroup is a share of the fund.

Life insurance cooperative

A method and computing system that receives a payment for each participant in a group of participants, and associates the payments with a time period to create a fund for the time period. The method identifies deceased participants in the group of participants who died during the time period, calculates a portion of the fund to disburse to each deceased participant; and disburses the portion of the fund to each deceased participant. When the participant is one of the deceased participants, the portion of the fund to disburse to the participant is a death benefit for the participant.

A business method and computing system for providing a death benefit to a participant having an uninsurable trait. The method collects registration information from the participant, and associates the participant with at least one other participant having the uninsurable trait to form a group of participants. The method receives a funding payment from each participant in the group to create a funding pool for a time period. The method disburses the funding pool to deceased participants in the group who died during the time period, each deceased participant receiving a portion of the funding pool. An amount of the portion of the funding pool for each deceased participant is the death benefit for the deceased participant.

A deep well rack assembly for pipette tips and the like includes an enclosure having a plurality of openings in a top wall thereof, a plurality of wells in the enclosure extending below the top wall and openings for receiving and retaining pipette tips, and a cover for overlying the top wall of the enclosure and the wells and pipette tips. The top wall of the enclosure either has a plurality of annular depressions formed therein and surrounding the openings or a plurality of raised annular rings formed thereon and surrounding the openings. The wells are disposed within an interior cavity of the enclosure. Each well has a continuous side wall attached at an open top end to the top wall and surrounding one of the openings therein. Each well is adapated to receive a pipette tip such that the pipette tip is disposable within the well and the respective annular depression or raised annular ring of the top wall of the enclosure. The cover can be in the form of a slidable lid or one or more layers of film applied over the top wall of the enclosure and covering the openings and wells and pipette tips therein as well as the annular depressions or raised annular rings of the top wall of the enclosure.

Deep well rack assembly for pipette tips and the like

A photochemical reactor system employing an optical fibers in the form of a cable to transmit light to solid-supported TiO.sub.2 -containing photocatalyst is disclosed. Light energy is transmitted to TiO.sub.2 -containing particles, chemically anchored onto one or more quartz fiber cores, via radial refraction of light out of each fiber. TiO.sub.2 -containing coating layer minimizes the interfacial surface area of the quartz core and TiO.sub.2 -containing particles and operation with incident irradiation angles near 90.degree. enhance light propagation along the fibers. A maximum quantum efficiency of .phi.=1.1% for the oxidation of 4-chlorophenol was achieved. Fiber efficiency permits the light source to be separated from the photocatalyst.

TI02-coated fiber optic cable reactor

TiO.sub.2 -coated fiber optic cable reactor

This invention provides an electrochemical water treatment device for producing hydroxyl free radicals and decomposing by oxidation chemical substances dissolved in water. It utilizes a novel electrode which is capable of operation at sufficiently positive anodic potential to produce hydroxyl radicals.

Electrochemical device for generating hydroxyl free radicals and

A hammer driven soil coring device for use on golf course greens having a cylindrical cutting tube that has a lower cutting edge and longitudinally extending guide slots which serve as a guide for an ejector plate. Affixed to the cylindrical cutting tube is a cutter cap to which is affixed a support tube. The support tube has one vertically oriented slot. The slot serves as a guide for a stop which serves as a device to control the depth that a tamping plate achieves when the cylindrical cutting tube is driven into the surface of the green. A hand knob extends through the slot into a cylindrical rod for extending the tamping plate beyond the cylindrical cutting tube and to lock the tamping plate into a fixed position. A bubble level is located within the support tube. An impact head is located at the end of the tube with an aperture that allows the operator to view a bubble level. A handle extends perpendicularly through the impact head as well as the support tube and is affixed to each by means of a spring lock pin.

Hammer driven soil coring device

A soil coring device with a core ejector mechanism that has a cylindrical cutting tube with two (2) 180 degree opposed tee slots that serve as a guide for an ejection plate, affixed to a cylindrical cutting tube is a tube with a vertically oriented slot attached perpendicularly thereto is a handle to which is affixed a bubble level. Located on the tube is a threaded locking knob that extends through the slot and communicates with a short presetting locking cylinder. Also located on the tube is a threaded locking hand knob that extends through the slot and communicates with a cylindrical rod to which a tamping plate is permenently attached. In operation, the soil coring device handle is rotated causing the cylindrical cutting tube to enter the soil to the predetermined depth, that has been preset by tightening the threaded locking knob into the short presetting locking cylinder, until ejection plate makes contact with the surface. The cylindrical cutting tube is removed from the hole, is then placed into the existing hole on the green, the threaded locking hand knob is released, both feet are placed on opposite sides of the cylindrical cutting tube and positioned on top of the ejection plate, the handle is pulled upwards ejecting the core into the hole. Then the tamping plate is displaced 2'-3' beyond the end of the cylindrical cutting tube, the core is then tamped with a tamping plate to achieve a level surface.

Growing community of inventors

South Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Michael R Hoffman