Archive for September, 2009
CLEAN-AIR FOCUS: Neville D’Herville says his chimney device burns the carbon before it is released into the atmosphere. Nelson engineer Neville D’Herville reckons he has a simple answer to the city’s smoke problem allowing people to keep their home fires burning. A low-pollutant factory he saw in Mauritius and new air quality laws have inspired him to invent a zero-emissions chimney. The city council banned the use of open fires in Nelson at the start of the year under the first stage of an air quality plan. National environmental standards for air quality mean local… Read more
31 May, 2006 TV2 Young Inventors Get Patents Three young inventors have been granted patents for the inventions they created for TV2s Lets Get Inventin show. The inventions are an in-car coffee machine, a gadget that stops kids being scared of that horrible noise the bath makes when you let the water out, and a crayfish pot designed to stop people pinching your catch. And, there may be more patents to come – the New Zealand Patents Office says another seven inventors may also qualify. The shows inventions will be on display from this weekend at the Museum of Transport and Technology… Read more
WELLINGTON — A Chinese company is to manufacture an engine whose New Zealand inventors say outperforms conventional rivals by virtually every measure. “This engine scores on every single aspect you measure engines on — it’s lighter in weight, it’s easy and very cheap to make, it’s incredibly powerful, it’s very low on emissions and it’s extremely fuel-efficient,” the engine’s co-inventor Graeme Jenkins said. World patents and licensing rights are owned by a tiny New Zealand company, Continuous Cycle Engine Development. In what Mr Jenkins described as a multi-million dollar deal, CCED has… Read more
It’s neither a plane nor a boat, but the latest invention of Nelson’s very own Flying Dutchman has people fascinated. Hira resident Rudy Heeman, a mechanic who has spent the last 11 years building hovercraft in his spare time, has come up with a model that does more than skim the surface. Over the past year, Mr Heeman has built a “wing in ground effect vehicle” – a hovercraft able to fly because of a peculiar set of aerodynamic principles. He said the “hoverwing”, which is almost complete, has drawn Atawhai Drive residents out of their houses and motorists out of their cars to watch test… Read more
After decades of roaming the globe and seeking the wisdom of elders, I have discovered the secret of happiness: Hot water. If you can start the day with a cup of tea and end it by cleaning up, almost anything in between is bearable. It weighs three pounds, so it’s not for backpacking when weight and bulk are critical. But when you’re camping by canoe, sled, horse, car, or airplane, this wood-burning gizmo is the best way to get hot water. It out-performs the similar but better-known Kelly Kettle. A double-handful of pine cones, twigs, trash or dried horse manure (no, it doesn’t smell) will… Read more
A nine-year-old New Zealand boy has won a major patent prize by inventing an eco-friendly unit that turns food scraps into fertiliser without anyone having to leave the kitchen. Ryan Nicholls of Glenfield, Auckland, came up with his ‘Waste-Away’ invention because he hated the chore of taking the family food scraps out to the composting bin. So he invented an automatic system to save him the job and is now NZ$10,000 richer. He is also thought to have become New Zealand’s youngest patent applicant. Down the drain Ryan’s system takes scraps that are chopped in the waste disposal grinder attached… Read more
