Editor’s note: Sometimes inventions just need a little push, a little publicity to get them noticed by the public or investors.

That’s why last year we launched Under the Radar, a section in the print version that features new and nascent inventions that have yet to take hold in the market. Precious few publications offer inventors of all stripes this type of opportunity.

Under the Radar has proved so popular that we’re going to experiment and expand it, both online and in the print edition. So here’s the deal – if you’re an inventor with a new product or prototype and want some international exposure, send a description and an image to [email protected] and we’ll see what we can do. Note: disclosing your idea in public starts the clock on when you can file for a U.S. patent, and can derail foreign patent applications. When in doubt, check with your local inventor club or your patent attorney. The USPTO’s Inventors Assistance Center also has free information.

Here is an Under the Radar entry from our April 2010 print edition. It got picked up in the Brownsville (Texas) Herald. The inventor reports to us that he’s since had at least one meeting with an interested manufacturer.

Tilting at Windmills

Windmill2

Michael Max believes he’s invented a better windmill, one that lowers construction, installation, maintenance, transportation and operating costs compared to conventional models. He’s filed a provisional patent application for a windmill with motors “mounted at ground level for easier and more cost effective maintenance.”

And because the windmill’s blades rotate low to the ground and horizontally – it looks like a spinning solid barrel – his device won’t harm birds. “You do not need to constantly expend energy constantly running a yaw motor to keep the blades into the wind,” he says. “My design is always facing the wind.” He’s looking for investors.

Visit www.horizontalwindmills.com or
e-mail [email protected].

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