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Patents and Technology of/by/from H. Michael Sweeney edit

OK. More bragging rights, but not that it matters; so far I've not made any money worth bragging about, despite patents, great deeds, or who I’ve rubbed shoulders with business wise. To be sure, I'm what most people would consider or choose to call a 'Jack of all trades.'

However, that title also implies 'Master of none.' I claim other, however. My motto is to always be among the best at what you do. I've also believed that one should experience as much as possible about an industry if wishing to excel in any part of it. I have therefore always sought to learn every aspect of an industry before choosing where to go with it. As a result, my successes far outweigh my failures, at least with respect to personal satisfaction.

I do not measure monetarily, though perhaps I should, as most do. Rather, I measure by where I've gone and who I've worked with, how much I've learned and how much I've shared with others, and what I've created and how much fun was had doing it. One other measure might be 'getting published' as an industry peer, or accredited a teacher in the field. I have been published or even taught courses at college level or commercially in most career fields.

Aviation Industry edit

While in the USAF, I was the only airman ever to...

• cross train through all career fields in order to be able to work on any part of an aircraft
• have a General write to Pentagon requesting permission to field promote to Officer (not since WW II era)

My experience and opportunity was unique such that I...

• Reported to Congress as part of Weapon System Acceptance and Evaluation Team (normally reserved for Officers)
• Wrote Technical Orders (repair/procedure manuals) by myself, normally reserved for a team of Officers and civilian helpers
• Was able to design a Jet engine for use in automobiles, which upon being submitted to General Electric resulted in an interesting job offer: GE would give full scholarship for an engineering degree as well as immediate employment at engineer's salary
  • Engine faced upward and was quite squat, with the intake air being used to cool combustion section and exhaust gases, and baffle noise of exhaust.
  • It also featured reversible turbine blades to allow engine to apply braking horsepower equivalents sufficient to safely slow and stop vehicle even in emergency situations without the need for conventional brakes.

Photography Industry edit

International Award Winning Photographer also trained in camera repair...

• Designed and built prototype for 35 MM SLR with features that would still be considered advanced today, but lack of business experience and funding killed the project
  • Body design featured removable components to allow for left or right-handed user configurations
  • Would accept ALL popular lenses from Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Konica, Topcon, Olympus, Pentax, etc.
  • Would accept most popular removable/interchangeable viewfinders and focusing screens from Topcon, Nikon, Canon
  • Removable film back with integral Copal style shutter which protected film from exposure when back removed
  • Copal style shutters were electronic, driven by pulse magnets, and were bidirectional, so there was never a need to cock camera, only to advance film (integral motor winder in body, with pass through for optional motor drive)
• Created a simple way to adapt certain B&W enlargers to Color, which I had published in Popular Photography
• improved upon color darkroom procedures with select equipment to allow reduction in chemicals employed by 90%, and sped development times by up to 50%, also published

Helped found the Professional Photographers of Industry, NW Div.

• Founding Board Member and Instructor Shado Gallery
• Adapted ordinary photography and video lenses to allow captured images to be shown normally or be viewed with 3-D glasses to reveal hidden 3-D effect.
  • Designed solution to allow broadcast television to enjoy this effect based on use of alternate left-right LCD shutters in optical glass eyeglasses, synchronized to the TV. Idea abandoned because LCD technology at that time was way too slow to keep up. Too bad — Sony announced just such a system last year!

Security Industry edit

While Video Security Specialist...

• Pioneered and developed microwave-based remote monitoring of multiple unmanned sites (one man could watch several customer properties from a single location)
  • Perhaps fitting, since my father pioneered microwave communication systems in commerce with the first-ever such system for Shell Oil, and, he also invented a portable telescoping 100' high tower for radio/TV/microwave use. It pleases me to also say he was at one time the world's fastest telegrapher, easily able to teletype most words as fast as they could be spoken

Eventually became known as The Professional Paranoid and published several books on personal privacy/security issues

Computer Industry edit

When I had my own chain of computer stores (a pioneer, 1st Apple dealer in Pacific Northwest) I...

• Designed but did not develop a crazy notion of putting eight hard drives on a single high-speed controller and bit-slicing data to allow faster throughput OR redundant saves. Gave it up as impractical — who would spend ten times the money for a hard drive? Well, now they call them RAID hard drive arrays
• Founded the Apple Independant Dealers Association and wrote several articles for trade journals
• Established Marks Creek Computer Camp for Kids and Executives
• Founded Expanding Space Software and wrote numerous software packages which were unique in their day
  • A program that allowed the lowly Apple II to compute pi to n places faster than any computer to date not a supercomputer (i.e., faster than DEC PDP11, faster than IBM 370, etc.)
  • A program in BASIC which allowed automation of writing other BASIC programs.
  • Also developed an operating system which incorporated the ideas inclusive in the above program, but the project was scrapped when Macintosh was released, as that was even more user freindly
• Taught Digital Electronics I and II, and Business Applications for one college, and Computer Repair and Beginning Computers at two others

In looking for 'the next great thing' I and two friends experimented with state of the art and formed various companies...

• developed, and obtained 3 different provisional patents in virtual reality imaging processes and devices
  • A process that allowed virtual images to be overlaid real images in virtual reality environments
  • A process which supported virtual Web retail stores within virtual images (which included virtual email/shopping cart support)
  • A device which quickly allowed full 360 hemispherical virtual imaging (as seen from any angle of view) of persons or objects within a confined space (normally takes a full studio and tedious set up and multiple procedures)
• These faltered due to lack of funding, though we came very close to getting funded through local Angel ventures
• A new kind of writing paper (see Paper Industry) digitally delivered, and with many digital claims

Medical Industry edit

My wife's father was a well known inventor, Charles M. Willock which bears some review outside of medical industry...

• Invented the pidgin-hole parking system used throughout the world in the 60's and 70's. The first one was built in Portland and was only torn down a few years ago to make way for a McDonalds. The featured an elevator that moved both up and sideways with a sliding set of lift arms (lifted vehicle) which cold retract and extend the car in and out of the elevator. Such systems are still being used at some boat storage yards, as well
• Ever drive to Astoria from Portland and see an old candle factory on the side of the road? Take their tour. Almost everything there he designed
• He designed and built the unique hydraulic wheels for the machine that dug the NORAD tunnel. What was unique is that they could turn independently or synchronously allowing the machine to rotate in place, turn tightly, or drive conventionally. Further, they would turn without portions of the tire exiting the vehicle profile (they would not stick), and they were both driven and braked hydraulically
• He also designed and built the machine that assembled the Minuteman Missile and, later, the Space Shuttle Booster Rockets. When Challenger exploded, that day he remarked 'It had to be the seals. I tried to warn them about that.' After long months of investigation, of course, he was sadly proven right

His best known inventions (getting back to the medical world) include...

• A means to manufacture a portable reusable splint system. SAMS Splint as it was first known, was merely a strip of thin aluminum with foam covering on each side which could be rolled up or folded for storage and then bent into any needed size/shape to provide a splint for almost any body part. Other versions were made to provide back and rib cage protection
• An easier to use biopsy sample taking device which allowed biopsy samples to be taken without surgery, and then featured a disposable removable container for the sample
• But he was best known for the World's first portable home dialysis system (Kidney Machine) which made him a millionaire and saved many countless lives. It led to the foundation of the Oregon Kidney Association

I happened to help him solve a problem in refinement of the machine some years later...

• Suggested the use of a common rubber band to solve a problem: He was trying to find a way to convert from use of diluted solutions in the process, which required users to carefully handle powders and mix with large quantities of heated distilled water, to the actual powder concentrate. The problem was — how do you control (adjustable) and correctly meter how much powder is added directly to the chemicals as the blood mixed with them? He had tried hoppers and belts but he could not control how much powder dumped to the belt, only the belt speed, which resulted in clumps rather than a slow constant speed. I suggested using a common (albeit large) rubber band on a series of rollers which were inserted into the powder. The powder stuck to the rubber band by natural adhesion to provide very uniform 'feed' and when vibrated over the solution, released the powder for mixing. All that remained was to adjust speed of the rollers to the need. He toyed with that and it seemed to work fine

Sleep Industry (Beds) edit

Another couple of friends, including inventor Joseph Woodward, got together...

• Joseph had invented a unique sleeping platform called the Suspended Sleeper which, while using standard bedding and mattresses, allows for a gentle rocking sensation suitable for better sleep and better (excuse me for saying it) sex. Hand made from welded steel for strength and durability, each one is custom designed as a work of art, no two being alike. Loaded with features and benefits, mostly health related, it is far superior to other suspended beds on the market and costs less than most. Joe is currently recluse, but would likely come out of the 'woodwork' to do 'woodward work'. Email the athor if interested in contracting a custom sleeper or learning more

Paper Industry edit

Also in the same partnership above, Joseph Woodward again comes to the rescue with a patent protected...

• Ergonomic (ergonometric) writing paper called ErgoScript which features curvilinear lines allowing a simple 'wave of the hand' motion when writing, which means using two or three muscle groups instead of up to nine or more (e.g., a left-handed writer sometimes uses almost their entire upper body, more than a dozen muscle groups).
  • World's first digitally delivered product (files which let you print your own pre printed papers) which...
    • Is e-biometric, in that by its use, the health of the user is improved by eliminating or reducing the stress common to trying to write on straight lines
    • Is e-heuristic, in that by its use, the mental power and ability of the user is enhanced, as reading material in arcuate form improves the readability resulting in faster reading without loosing ones place (almost impossible), making it easier to spot and correct errors or find key words or phrases, and improves both comprehension and retention (memory)
    • Is e-green, in that by its use Ghia is protected: eliminates multiple trips (saves time and gas) to the store to buy a variety of products are no longer needed, and by printing one's own 'pre printed' paper, manufacturing, packaging, and shipment of traditional 'diesel papers' is reduced, eliminating production of greenhouse gases, etc.
    • Is e-financial in that by its use the user can gain monetarily: a special unique usercode at the bottom of each sheet allows anyone who sees and likes the paper to order at a discount and, if so ordering, can result in $5 being paid to the original user
• A companion paper based on some of the unique features of ErgoScript was also developed. Called ErgoPlex, it allows a single sheet of normal straight-line paper to also serve as graphing paper, drawing paper, or columnar paper, and more
• This author contributed ErgoSight, which is a version of ErgoScript and straight-line papers in versions easier to use by vision impaired persons, making it the World's first digitally deliverable product which is e-optical, in that by its use, the user can more easily see what they are writing
• The entire collection of ErgoScript, ErgoPlex, and ErgoSight were combined into a single e-product along with traditional files to allow users to also print regular ruled paper, graph paper, or columnar pads. The collection, called the ErgoGrafx Writing System give users the ultimate choice in just how their writing will look when finished, with over 40 page combinations possible. No more will someone have to make a trip to the store because they don't have the right paper for the job, or make do with what they do have. Work looks better, is easier to accomplish, is easier to read, and can make a buck on its own right, too!