A non-pneumatic tire is disclosed having a polyether polyol urethane elastomeric body with a plurality of angular radial ribs interconnected by webbing. The urethane is formed of at least two isocyanate-end capped polyether polyols of differing molecular weights to yield a tire with improved highway life and good vehicle ride characteristics.

This invention relates to non-pneumatic tires having angularly oriented ribbed members and webs between ribs composed of resilient polyether urethane elastomeric materials. In particular, a urethane made of polyether polyols having two distinctly different molecular weights are used to make the urethane elastomer.
Urethanes have been used in the manufacture of solid tires useful for such applications as industrial tires, off-the-road tires, bicycles tires and the like. They have not been entirely satisfactory in such applications because such urethane solid tires do not have the proper cushioning and handling characteristics for a soft vehicle ride on such applications as passenger vehicles. Also, such solid tires suffer from internal heat build-up and subsequent degradation of the elastomer material in prolonged high speed service conditions or under rough terrain situations where the tire is being deformed.
Various polyurethane elastomers have been proposed for use on such solid tires, including those described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,200 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,681 both to Kaneko et al. In these two pieces of prior art it is proposed that polyether urethane elastomers can be utilized which are prepared from two prepolymers having differing molecular weights. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,681 it is disclosed that by using a flex life test such De Mattia it is determined that the preferred urethane elastomer is one prepared using a polyfunctional isocyanate and a polyether prepared using prepolymers having different average molecular weights. It is further disclosed that for polytetramethylene ether glycol the critical molecular weight is 4,500. One of the two polyethers used to make the invention must have a molecular weight above the 4,500 critical molecular weight and the other must be below this critical molecular weight in order to achieve the improved De Mattia flex life. U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,200 discloses a 4,000 critical molecular weight for polytetramethylene glycol ethers utilized in the urethane teaches that the average weight of the two polyethers must lie between 4,500 and 20,000 weight average molecular weight. It further teaches that one of the polyethers must lie below the critical molecular weight of 4,500 and the other be above such a critical molecular weight. In comparative Example 9, a composition outside of the invention of the reference is described in which a 1,900 molecular weight polyether and an 850 molecular weight is blended 50:50, reacted with 2 mols of 2,4 tolylene diisocyanate and subsequently cured with methylene bis ortho-chloroaniline. Such a composition was found to have poor cut growth and flex crack resistance as measured by De Mattia flex testing.
Contrary to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,200, it has been quite unexpectedly found that a non-pneumatic tire utilizing a rib-and-web structure of this invention yields a non-pneumatic tire which can favorably compare with pneumatic tires for service life under both high speed, long duration test conditions and under very rough road conditions while still giving good ride and handling characteristics similar to a pneumatic tire. Such a device of the invention is superior to a pneumatic tire in that it cannot be punctured or damaged in the way a pneumatic can.
The non-pneumatic tire concept set forward in European patent publication number 159,888 which claimed convention priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 600,932 filed Apr. 16, 1984, introduced a configuration of tire which utilized an entirely new design approach to a high speed non-pneumatic tire having suitable ride characteristics for passenger tires. This design features the ability of the ribs and webs to provide a variable spring rate in the tires and enables it to deform locally when an obstacle is encountered on a rough road driving condition. These requirements are in addition to the common requirements which were encountered in previous generations of solid tires that the internal heat build-up be kept to a minimum and the flex life of the tire be long.
In view of the unique requirements of structure as a object of the invention to provide a urethane material which can endure both long duration, high speed conditions as well as the ability to locally deflect in rough terrain service. It is a further object to provide a non-pneumatic tire having good vehicle ride characteristics under a variety of road conditions. In order to achieve such results, it is necessary to recognize that dynamic modulus of the material is critically important as well as flex fatigue life and dynamic heat build-up properties (hysteresis). The recognition of the criticality of utilizing a urethane with two distinct molecular weight glycols with an organic diamine curative provided the balance in properties required for good vehicle ride characteristics as well as long life.

Method of making a polyurethane non-pneumatic tire


A system and method for adjusting the LED current of an optical sensor that does not decrease the effectiveness of the optical sensor or the length of its operating life, or significantly increase the cost due to hardware requirements. The LED current of an optical sensor is adjusted using a high frequency pulse-width modulated signal generated from a microcontroller. Based on feedback provided by the photo-detector, the duty cycle of the signal can be adjusted by the microcontroller. The signal passes through a low pass filter which averages the modulated signal into a DC voltage, which is then used to control a current amplifier circuit that provides current to the LED of the optical sensor. This adjustability enables the system to compensate for variations in sensor LED's and the LED brightness reduction to due aging and/or build-up of contaminants on the photo-detector and/or LED.

Mail processing systems for preparing mail pieces have long been well known and have enjoyed considerable commercial success. There are many different types of mail processing systems, including, for example, inserter systems that insert material into envelopes and mailing machines that print postage indicia on mail pieces. Optical sensors are commonly used in such mail processing systems to ensure that all parts in the system function in a coordinated way. For example, in a mail inserting system where a plurality of enclosure feeders are used to release documents onto a transport path and the released documents are collated into a stack for insertion into an envelope, optical sensors can be used to check the arrival of the envelope, the movement of the released documents, and so forth. Mailing machines range from relatively small units that handle only one mail piece at a time, to large, multi-functional units that can process thousands of mail pieces per hour in a continuous stream operation. The larger mailing machines often include different modules that automate the processes of producing mail pieces, each of which performs a different task on the mail piece. Such modules could include, for example, a singulating module, i.e., separating a stack of mail pieces such that the mail pieces are conveyed one at a time along a transport path, a moistening/sealing module, i.e., wetting and closing the glued flap of an envelope, a weighing module, and a metering module, i.e., applying evidence of postage to the mail piece. The exact configuration of the mailing machine is, of course, particular to the needs of the user. Optical sensors are commonly used to track the location of each mail piece as it passes through the machine via the transport mechanism. Based on the location of the mail piece, certain functions are initiated, e.g., weighing, printing, etc. Additionally, optical sensors can be utilized to determine if a mail piece has become jammed within the mailing machine.
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, an optical sensor 10, in general, comprises a photo-detector 12 and a light-emitting diode (LED) 14. When the optical sensor 10 is active, the LED 14 is activated to produce light to illuminate the photo-detector 12. When the photo-detector 12 is not blocked, the light from the LED 14 is detected by the photo-detector 12. In this state, the output voltage of the photo-detector 12 circuit is generally low. But when the photo-detector 12 is blocked by an object coming into the space between the LED 14 and the photo-detector 12, such as a mail piece 16 moving in the direction of arrow A, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, the light from the LED 14 does not illuminate the photo-detector 12, which causes the photo-detector 12 to be in a high resistive state. In this state, the output voltage of the photo-detector 12 circuit is generally high or substantially equal to the supply voltage. Alternatively, the output voltage of the photo-detector 12 could be opposite as described, depending on the circuit configuration, e.g., unblocked has a high output, and blocked has a low output. In general, the output voltage of a photo-detector 12 depends on the light that is detected by the photo-detector 12, which in turn depends on output of the LED 14, the distance of the photo-detector from the LED, the alignment between the photo-detector and the LED, and so forth. In order to ensure that the photo-detector 12 receives sufficient light when it is not blocked, the supply current to the LED 14 is usually set to a value that is higher than threshold value at which the photo-detector 12 would change the state of its output voltage.
Mail processing systems present a challenging environment for optical sensors. A long operating life combined with contamination such as paper dust build-up cause the operating characteristics of a sensor to deviate from the initial "brand-new" values. Optical sensors have to be designed with enough operating margin to overcome issues such as LED aging and dust build-up to ensure that the supply current to the LED is large enough such that sufficient light is detected by the photo-detector when not blocked. There are several conventional ways to achieve this, but each has problems. One method of achieving this is to increase the LED current. This, however, can reduce the sensor's ability to detect thinner material (as the light intensity may allow sufficient light to pass through thinner materials such that the optical detector detects enough light to remain in an "unblocked" state) as well as reduce the overall LED operating life. Another method to achieve this is to use detectors that are more sensitive. This, however, could lead to false triggers due to external light sources. Another method to achieve this is by the use of current amplifiers that require a digital to analog converter for each sensor. This, however, could significantly increase the cost of the machine, depending on the number of optical sensors utilized in the system.

Circuit and method for controlling current supplied to an optical sensor


A septum is disclosed that can be utilized in a catheter assembly to selectively seal an opening in the catheter assembly. The septum has a tube portion and a plug portion. The plug portion has a slit extending through it. The septum can transition from a non-collapsed state to a collapsed state. When the septum is in a non-collapsed state, the plug portion is offset from the tube portion such that some of the length of the slit extends outward from the distal end of the tube portion. When the septum transitions to the collapsed state, the plug portion is moved inward into the internal cavity such that some of the length of the slit may or may not extend outward from the distal end of the tube portion.

The present invention relates to septa used in catheter and introducer needle assemblies. In medicine, such catheter and introducer needle assemblies are used to place a catheter properly into the vascular system of a patient. Once in place, catheters, such as intravenous (or "IV") catheters, may be used to infuse fluids including normal saline, medicinal compounds, and/or nutritional compositions (including total parenteral nutrition, or "TPN") into a patient in need of such treatment. Catheters additionally enable the removal of fluids from the circulatory system and the monitoring of conditions within the vascular system of the patient.
One type of commonly used catheter is an "over-the-needle" catheter that is mounted over an introducer needle with a sharp distal tip. The introducer needle cuts through the patient's skin and provides structural support to the catheter as it advances through the skin. The distal edge of the catheter grips the outside of the introducer needle to facilitate the insertion of the catheter through the skin along with the introducer needle. When a portion of the introducer needle is inserted into the target vessel, the catheter is slid over the introducer needle into place within the target vessel. Once placement of the catheter has been confirmed, the introducer needle may be withdrawn from the catheter assembly, leaving the catheter in place.
As blood begins to flow into the catheter adapter, a variety of seals or septa can be in place within the catheter adapter for preventing outflow of fluid from the catheter assembly. Such a septum may rely on an interference fit between the catheter assembly and the introducer needle assembly to create radial compression forces on the introducer needle intended to prevent the unwanted escape of blood between the septum and the introducer needle. The compression forces operating on the introducer needle can also function to close the septum and maintain the septum closed after the introducer needle is removed. The interference fit closing the septum after needle withdrawal can introduce frictional forces at the needle-septum interface. These frictional forces can create drag forces that resist needle extraction, making it difficult for medical personnel to remove the needle from the catheter assembly, particularly with one hand. Occasionally, the frictional force required to remove the needle can result in uncomfortable or painful movement or vibration of the catheter within the patient. It would thus be an improvement in the art to provide a septum that has a lower frictional force resisting needle extraction while still providing adequate sealing functionality.


A food supplement which has beneficial effects for bowel health, and a method of preparing the food supplement are disclosed. The food supplement is derived from fiber extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables. The fiber extracts have a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom. The two or more types of fruit or vegetable may be selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, cranberry, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach and melon. The beneficial effects for bowel health are manifest in an increase in levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFA""s) in the colon.

This invention relates to a food supplement, derived from fruit or vegetable fibres, which has beneficial effects for bowel health.
Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA""s) are known to have significant physiological effects on the large bowel. In particular, SCFA""s are considered to play a role in the protection against bowel cancer and the development of pathogenic organisms and the development of colonic ulceration and other diseases of the bowel.
SCFA""s (acetate, propionate and butyrate) are produced in the large bowel by microbial fermentation. The benefits attributed to these compounds are variously thought to be the result of either reduced pH or beneficial changes to the molar ratios of acetate, propionate and butyrate or some combination of these. The concentration of SCFA""s, pH and in particular butyrate concentration are putative indicators of bowel health.
More particularly, butyrate is considered to offer protection against bowel cancer. As most intestinal cancers occur in the distal colon, an increased level of butyrate in this region is a key objective in controlling the incidence and development of this type of cancer.
In the processing of fruit and vegetable for consumption, a considerable amount of the fruit or vegetable remains unused because it is either unpalatable or inconvenient to use. This represents a somewhat inefficient use of resources and leads to a waste disposal problem and a loss of potentially valuable resources.
It is also desirable to have a fibre additive for foods that is a substitute, or a partial substitute for ingredients of commonly used foods substances such as flour in bread. Also desired is that these substitutes do not add to the calorific content of the foods, and in many instances that these substitutes do either not contribute flavours at all or at least do not contribute off flavours. A number of examples of fibre food additives are made from waste from fruit or vegetable processing, and one such example is the use of treated citrus albedo for inclusion of a flour substitute in various cereal products such as bread in U.S. Pat. No. 4526794 by Altomare et al.
It is a finding of this invention that the use of a mixture of fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables can have a beneficial effect on the large bowel.
Fibre extracts from apple slices and from the albedo of oranges were extracted by a counter current method and added as a supplement to a standard feed for pigs and to a diet for humans. An unexpected beneficial change in indicators of gut health was found when mixtures of the two fibre extracts were used when compared to the use of each fibre extract separately.
The effect is manifest in an increased production of short chain fatty acids in the large bowel, of which butyrate is the fatty acid that is increased to the greatest degree particularly in the distal colon. The experiments conducted to date are suggestive that the physiology of the large intestine is also somewhat modified in so far as the wall of the large intestine is thickened albeit by a statistically not significant amount, indicating that there may be stimulation of growth.
The term fibre in the context of this invention is intended to convey the meaning of material that is substantially indigestible in the small intestine such that it passes into the large bowel of a human or other omnivorous animal species.
It is thus proposed that in a broad form that the present invention could be said to reside in a food supplement, said food supplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom.
At present the reason why such combinations of fibre extracts exert their effect is unknown, it is however thought that removal of a majority of the soluble solids is essential for this to have effect. One hypothesis is that insoluble fibre components presented in this way have a more beneficial action in promoting colonisation of beneficial bacteria in the large intestine, thereby acting as a prebiotic.
The removal of soluble solids also has the side benefit of maximising the potential value obtained from the precursor product in so far as it may be possible to sell some or all of the soluble solids. Additionally the insoluble solids that remain are more convenient for food use because they may be dried and hence put into a wider range of foods than would be possible with soluble materials. Insoluble solids from which soluble solids have been removed also have a tendency to be more stable microbiologically and not to produce off flavours, there is also the possibility that any anti microbial substances (that might otherwise adversely affect beneficial large bowel microflora) present in parts of the fruit are also removed.
The two or more types of fruit or vegetable may be selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach and melon.
Preferably the two or more types of fruit or vegetables are selected from the group consisting of, grape, orange, apple, tomato, melon, cranberry and grapefruit.
In an alternative form a first of the two or more fruit and vegetables is a citrus fruit and a second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach, melon and cranberry and more preferably the second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, apple, tomato, melon and cranberry. In one convenient form the citrus fruit is an orange.
In another alternative form a first of the two or more fruit and vegetables is an apple, and a second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach, a melon, and more preferably the second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, tomato, and melon.
In one specific form the fibre extracts from two fruits are used, the two fruits being orange and apple.
Citrus fruits that might be used including orange, grapefruit, tangelo, tangerine, lemon, o kinnow fruit and varietals. When dealing with citrus by product parts, citrus xe2x80x9ccupsxe2x80x9d can be used. Cups are halves of the outer portion of citrus fruits comprising the skin (flavedo) and the pith (albedo) and represent the portion of citrus fruit remaining after conventional juice extraction. Preferably the starting material for fibre extraction is a shaved skin, whereby the flavedo has been removed. The benefit of using albedo is that processing is simplified, so that the strongly flavoured portion of the skin is not included.
For pineapples, the xe2x80x9czenithxe2x80x9d solids, which comprise the outer skin and inner core of pineapple can be used. Also whole pineapples can be used.
When papaya is the precursor just the flesh and skin are to be processed. When the seed is included the resultant product has a higher fibre content. Likewise mangos, without seed can be processed.
When a melon is used it might be selected from the group consisting of watermelon, rock melon, honeydew melon or champagne melon.
Without being bound by the same, a possible explanation for the beneficial effects of the combinations of fibre extracts is that the two fibre components each offer different levels of minerals, neutral non starch polysachharides and uronic acids and that a synergy is afforded by a combination of fruits or vegetables having the different levels. Soluble and insoluble neutral non starch polysaccharides, and soluble and insoluble uronic acids provide four possible substrates for microbial growth in the colon. These four possible substrates may result in a series of microbial populations being established along the large bowel, each acclimatised to a preferred substrate and each producing different SCFA""s. In this way, the varying molar ratios of the individual SCFA""s may be explained.
The high level of calcium and other elements are considered to provide beneficial effects on the proliferation of colon cells, the excretion of bile acids and avoiding mineral losses from occurring, for example with diarrhoea. Thus in the case of a mixture of orange and apple fibres, it has been determined that orange is higher in calcium, soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides and total uronic acids than is the apple. Thus it may be expected that the combination of a first fruit or vegetable having levels of one or more mineral or fibre components that are similar to orange and a second fruit or vegetable having levels comparable to apple may provide the synergistic effect. Some typical compositions of fruits are given in Table 1.
Thus in one embodiment of the invention the invention may be said to reside in a food supplement, said food supplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom and wherein a first of the two or more fruits or vegetables has:
a calcium content of between 4000 and 15000 ppm;
a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides content of between 2 and 3 percent dry weight; and
a total uronic acids content of between 20 and 40 percent dry weight and the second of the two or more fruit or vegetables has:
a calcium content of between 200 and 1500 ppm;
a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides content of between 1 and 2 percent dry weight; and
a total uronic acids content of between 5 and 20 percent dry weight.
Alternatively the invention may be said to reside in a food supplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom and wherein a first of the two or more fruits or vegetables has a calcium content of between 4000 and 15000 ppm and a second of the two or more fruit or vegetables has a calcium content of between 200 and 1500 ppm.
Alternatively still the invention may be said to reside in a food supplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom and wherein a first of the two or more fruits or vegetables has a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharide content of between 2 and 3 percent dry weight and a second of the two or more fruit or vegetables has a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides content of between 1 and 2 percent dry weight.
As a further alternative the invention may be said to reside in a food supplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom and wherein a first of the two or more fruits or vegetables has a total uronic acids content of between 20 and 40 percent dry weight and a second of the two or more fruit or vegetables has a total uronic acids content of between 5 and 20 percent dry weight.
Preferably the ratio of the first fibre extract to the second fibre extract in the food supplement is between 1:4 and 4:1 and is most preferably between 2:3 to 3:2. In one preferred from of the invention the two fibre extracts are present in equal amounts by weight.
The invention may also be said to reside in a method of preparing a food supplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the method including the steps of removing a majority of the soluble solids from each of the two or more types of fruit or vegetables separately to give fibre extracts from the two or more fruits or vegetables, and combining the fibre extracts to provide the food supplement.
The method may include the steps of slicing each of the two or more fruits or vegetables into substantially uniform pieces, and substantially removing any remaining seed tissue from the fibre extracts after extraction an then combining the fibre extracts to provide the food supplement.
The method may also include the steps of inactivating enzymes within the fruit or vegetable pieces.
The precursor material is preferably undigested, in the sense that it has not been macerated, or treated enzymically, or by other chemical agents such as acid or alkaline to breakdown the structure of the macromolecules forming the fibres. The structure of the plant material is thus still complex. Thus when an apple is prepared for conventional pressing it is first milled, a process in which almost all of the cell walls are disrupted and in fact compounds normally isolated in cell walls or cytoplasm or vacuoles, nuclei etc are homogenised and begin to react. Many of these reactions are enzymically driven such as depolymerisation of pectin or oxidation. On the other hand when an apple is prepared by a preferred embodiment of this invention the apple is sliced, so that the longest diffusion path is no more than say 1.5 mm. Slicing disrupts only a small proportion of cell walls, perhaps 0.5%, and the enzymes and their substrates are kept separate.
The method of preparing fibre also preferably includes the step of inactivating enzymes within the fruit preparation which might conveniently be by heat inactivation. Thus with the example of apple slices after slicing the slices are flash heated to a temperature at which plasmolysis occurs but no heat damage occurs to flavour compounds (60xc2x0 C.). This is termed a critical temperature. The resultant increase in permeability of the (still intact) cell wall increases significantly the rate of transfer of soluble solids from solid to liquid phase.
The majority of soluble solids are then removed from the precursor, by extracting liquids. This is achieved by preparing the precursor material to an appropriate size, for example by slicing to a particle with a thickness of no more than about 2 to 3 mm is found optimal for apple slices, and precontacting the precursor food material with an extraction liquid, and then separating the precursor food material from the extraction liquid, the separation occurring to an extent to give the desired reduction in soluble solids.
This extraction liquid is most preferably water, however, a non-aqueous or non-polar solvent might be used to extract water-insoluble or non-polar compounds. Examples of such solvents are, chloroform, hexane, chlorinated hydrocarbons or acetone. A specific example is the extraction of isoflavones and other flavanoids from orange peel using ethanol as the solvent.
It is preferred that water soluble solids are substantially all removed, in which case the fibre product is substantially free of sugars and other very readily soluble solids whereby greater than 90% of soluble solids are removed. One effect of this is that the fibre product is stabilised against microbial attack. That is not to say that microbial degradation of the fibre is totally inhibited, but rather that this is reduced. Generally fungal growth is not inhibited but growth of the more common food spoiling bacteria are.
Additionally by removal of substantially all of the soluble solids the fibre product has a reduced potential for the development of an off taste, because compounds responsible for flavours have been extracted by the extraction process. Removal of substantially all of the soluble solids is intended to mean removal of substantially all soluble solids that are in a free or unbound state.
A processor suitable for extraction by counter current methods is described in Australian Patent No. 543184. Alternatively other extraction apparatus that could be used include a diffuser made by DeDanske Sukkerfabriker of Denmark and a diffuser made by Amos of Germany. It is anticipated that by use of these processes greater than 90% of the water soluble solids are removed, and more preferably from between 93 to 99%.
The benefits of the invention are expected largely to result by reason of fermentation in the large bowel of non-digestible components of the fruits outlined above, and it is anticipated that less purified forms of the fibres will also have a similar effect to that found for the more purified forms of fibre. It is however not desirable to use conventional techniques of expressing juice from fruit because the supplement will be high in flavours, sugars, and acids. The material is unstable microbiologically and enzymatically and will rapidly develop off flavours and odours and will quickly discolour.
In another form the invention may be said to reside in agent for increasing levels of one or more fatty acids to the colon of an animal or human wherein the agent is derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables that have had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom. Preferably the increased level of fatty acids is greater than the level afforded by any one of the fruits or vegetables alone. Preferably also the fatty acid is a short chain fatty acid which may include acetate, propionate and butyrate. The one or more types of fruit and vegetables may be selected from the group described herein.
It will be appreciated that the invention could also reside in a food product having the food supplement. Suitable food products that may contain the food supplement include, but are not limited to, breakfast cereals, granola bars, soups and beverages including fruit juices. Preferably the food product contains between 1 and 50% by weight of the food supplement and most preferably between 1 and 30%. In the case of liquid food products the upper limit to the amount of fibre supplement that may be added is determined by the viscoity of the ensuing product. Thus, preferably soups may contain between 2 and 15% of the food supplement and beverages may contain between 2 and 5% of the food supplement.
For a better understanding the invention will now be described with reference to a number of examples. It is understood that these examples are only illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Food Ingredients Technologies Intangibles (Bermuda) Limited


A timer circuit is provided with a comparator CMP1, a control unit and a comparator CMP2. The comparator CMP1 compares a potential of the capacitance element with the potential of a reference voltage VREF_H, and if the potential of the capacitance element reaches the potential of the reference voltage VREF_H, outputs a pre-specified time-up signal. The control unit performs control such that the potential of the capacitance element is higher than a potential of a reference voltage VREF_S, which is higher than the ground potential and lower than the potential of the reference voltage VREF_H. The comparator CMP2 compares the potential of the capacitance element with the potential of the reference voltage VREF_S, and if the potential of the capacitance element is lower than the potential of the reference voltage VREF_S, outputs a short circuit detection signal indicating that a short circuit state of the capacitance element has been detected.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a timer circuit, and particularly relates to a timer circuit that utilizes charging and discharging of a capacitance element.
2. Related Art
Timer circuits that measure time by charging capacitors (hereinafter referred to as capacitance elements) external to the circuits (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-241565) are commonly known as timer circuits that are used in semiconductor integrated circuits and the like.
FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a circuit diagram of a related art timer circuit that uses charging of a capacitance element C. As illustrated in FIG. 9, this configuration is provided with a comparator CMP, a reference voltage source that generates a reference voltage VREF, a charging circuit A for putting the capacitance element C into a charged state and a discharging circuit B for putting the capacitance element C into a discharged state. The capacitance element C is connected to the circuit by a capacitive element connection terminal.
The charging circuit A is provided with a resistance element R1 and a switch 51, and the discharging circuit B is provided with a resistance element R2 and a switch S2. A timer operation allowance signal is input to the switch 51 without being inverted, and the timer operation allowance signal is inverted by a NOT circuit and input to the switch S2. Thus, the charging circuit A and the discharging circuit B are connected to the capacitance element C exclusively.
FIG. 10 illustrates an operation timing chart of this related art timer circuit.
When the timer stops, the timer operation allowance signal is put to low level, the discharging circuit B is connected to the capacitance element C, and a state in which the capacitance element C is discharged is continued. When the timer starts, the timer operation allowance signal is put to high level, the charging circuit A is connected to the capacitance element C, and charging of the capacitance element C begins. Then, when the capacitance element C is charged up to the reference voltage VREF, a time-up signal is output from the comparator CMP.
Thus, the duration, from when charging of the capacitance element C is started until the time-up signal that is the output signal of the comparator CMP is output, is utilized as a timer duration. By the capacitance of the capacitance element C being changed, the timer duration may be set to an arbitrary timer duration. Therefore, this circuit may be utilized as a timer circuit in many semiconductor integrated circuits.
However, in the related art timer circuit described above, if a problem occurs in the external capacitance C, or foreign bodies or the like adhere to a circuit substrate and the capacitance element C is short-circuited, the timer does not get to time-up. Even if a spare timer circuit is provided, the spare timer circuit may not be switched to unless it can be detected that the capacitance element C is in the short-circuit state.


A system for generating a hybrid token architecture for chaining authenticated interactions is provided. The system includes a memory device for storing computer-readable program; a communication device connected to a network; and a processing device, wherein the processing device is configured to: initiate an authentication session of a user associated with a user interaction; determine an authentication identifier based on at least one of the authentication session and the user interaction, the authentication identifier comprising at least one of a device portion, a user portion, and an authentication record portion; generate a unique token based on the authentication identifier, wherein the unique token is required for a subsequent authentication session, and wherein the unique token links the authentication session with the subsequent authentication session, the authentication session and the subsequent authentication session forming a chain of successive authentication sessions; and store the unique token for the subsequent authentication session.

Device and user identity impersonation are common methods of unauthorized access used for attempted misappropriation of user resources. While current systems and devices employ authentication checks to discourage unauthorized access, the prevalence of compromised data can render traditional authentication methods susceptible to unwanted intrusion by an unauthorized user. Therefore, there exists a need for an improved system for generating unique and reliable authentication tokens for authorized device and user identification during an interaction.

Security system with adaptive authentication based on tokenization chaining


A memory circuit includes a voltage boosting circuit for generating a voltage that exceeds a voltage supply of the voltage boosting circuit. The voltage boosting circuit includes a first transistor having a first polarity type and a second transistor having a second polarity type opposite the first transistor. The first transistor is a planar transistor, a source of the first transistor being connected with the voltage supply, and a gate of the first transistor receiving a control signal. The second transistor includes a gate formed in at least two planes. A source of the second transistor is connected with the voltage supply, a gate of the second transistor receives the control signal, and a drain of the second transistor is connected with a drain of the first transistor and forms an output of the voltage boosting circuit for generating a boosted supply voltage as a function of the control signal.

The present invention relates generally to electrical, electronic and computer arts, and more particularly relates to memory storage components and systems.
In a memory system employing six-transistor (6T) or eight-transistor (8T) static random access memory (SRAM) cells, in order to improve the stability of conventional 6T or 8T memory cells, a variety of techniques have been proposed. Such techniques include, for example, providing dual-voltage supplies, using multiple-threshold voltage (multi-VT) transistor devices, decreasing the length of bit lines used in the memory cells, employing power supply boosting via interconnects, adding transistors to the cells, and using a charge pump to boost the voltage supply to the memory cells, among other techniques.
Unfortunately, however, each of the above-noted techniques for improving the stability of 6T or 8T SRAM cells results in one or more disadvantages, such as, for example, increased integrated circuit (IC) area, increased power consumption, increased circuit complexity or overhead, and supply voltage penalty. Specifically, multiple fixed voltage supplies are conventionally applied to memory cells, word line drivers, and peripheral logic in an attempt to combat stability and writeability issues. However, the use of multiple voltage supplies and their conversion from on-chip is complex, and conversion efficiency is often an issue. Accordingly, conventional solutions for improving the stability of 6T and 8T SRAM cells are generally not well-suited for low-power applications. Furthermore, it is difficult to achieve a simplified solution which meets stability, performance and minimum supply voltage (Vmin) requirements of modern applications and systems.

FinFET-based boosting supply voltage circuit and method

Internatinal Business Machines Corporation


Structures that integrate airgaps with a field-effect transistor and methods for forming a field-effect transistor with integrated airgaps. A first semiconductor layer is formed on a substrate, and a second semiconductor layer is formed over the first semiconductor layer. A source/drain region of a field-effect transistor is formed in the second semiconductor layer. An airgap is located in the first semiconductor layer, The airgap is arranged in a vertical direction between the source/drain region and the substrate.

The present invention relates to semiconductor device fabrication and integrated circuits and, more specifically, to structures that integrate airgaps with a field-effect transistor and methods for forming a field-effect transistor with integrated airgaps.
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry is utilized in mobile communication devices (e.g., laptops, cellular phones, tablets, etc.) to handle wireless high frequency signals transmitted to and/or received by the mobile communication devices. The circuitry may include a low noise amplifier and a high frequency switch that allows for high frequency signals received by an antenna to be routed from the low noise amplifier to other chip circuitry and for high frequency signals to be routed from a power amplifier to the antenna. The high frequency switch may include a stack or bank of field-effect transistors formed by CMOS processes. Field-effect transistors fabricated on a bulk substrate may exhibit poor linearity due to, for example, non-linear electric fields on the substrate and poor intermodulation properties. Semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrates may mitigate some of these issues, but are costly in comparison with bulk substrates.
Improved structures that integrate airgaps with a field-effect transistor and methods for forming a field-effect transistor with integrated airgaps are needed.


To dry a hand with fingertips and a carpus, the palmar aspect and the dorsal aspect of the hand are blown dry, starting from the fingertips, by a pair of planar gas jets, wherein the gas jets of the pair run towards each other in the direction from the carpus to the fingertips at an angle of less than 180°. By applying high-voltage AC pulses with respect to ground to dielectrically shielded electrodes arranged next to both planar gas jets, direct discharges are obtained across the hand on the palmar aspect thereof and on the dorsal aspect thereof.

A method of drying a hand and an apparatus for hand drying as outlined above are known from WO 2007/015043 A1. The known apparatus for hand drying comprises a hand insertion opening with two merged opening areas which are each provided for one hand and which are arranged side by side. A distance of the longitudinal sides of the hand insertion opening is 70 to 100 mm, i.e. about 85 mm, and this distance is reduced at both ends of the hand insertion opening and between its two opening areas to 50 to 80 mm, i.e. about 65 mm. At both longitudinal sides of the hand insertion opening, slot nozzles are arranged which are connected to a blower in the housing of the apparatus to blow planar gas jets out of the slot nozzles. The gas jets consist of air whose velocity is at least 80 m/s, preferably at last 100 or 150 m/s, more preferably about 180 m/s. Besides the hand insertion opening, the housing of the known apparatus has big lateral openings directly connected to the hand insertion opening, through which the blown out air of the gas jets passes into the surroundings of the apparatus. In this way, however, water blown away from the hands and germs blown away from the hands together with the water are delivered into the surroundings of the apparatus. The air which is sucked in by the blower for blowing it out of the slot nozzles is sucked in through a filter.
The angle between the planar gas jets emerging out of the slot nozzles by which the palmar aspect and the dorsal aspect of the respective hand are blown off is an obtuse angle, i.e. the slot nozzles are directed into the housing of the apparatus at a small slant angle only.
A further development of the apparatus for hand drying known from WO 2007/015043 A1 is disclosed in WO 2014/091191 A1. Here, the slot nozzles are oriented into the housing at a higher slant angle. The slant angle of the one slot nozzle is constant, whereas the slant angle of the opposing slot nozzle varies over the width of the hand insertion opening particularly in a range from 50° to 59° with regard to a horizontal plane of the hand insertion opening.
EP 2 223 704 A1 discloses a treatment apparatus for treating a body part of a patient with a non-thermal plasma. The apparatus is particularly intended for sterilizing a hand of a human. The apparatus has a housing for temporarily receiving the body part during the treatment and for applying a plasma to the body part within the housing. The housing has an insertion opening for inserting the body part into the housing. The housing further includes a plasma generator, a high voltage generator, an outer electrical insulation, a gas-permeable radiation shielding and a spacer. The plasma generator has two essentially planar arrangements for generating a dielectric barrier discharge. The one arrangement is arranged above, the other arrangement is arranged below a treatment area. Both arrangements have two electrodes and a dielectric barrier between the electrodes. By applying an alternating high voltage provided by the high voltage generator between the two electrodes, a dielectric barrier discharge is ignited which emits ultraviolet radiation.
JP 4 796 281 B2 discloses an apparatus for disinfection by means of a hot plasma jet. A dielectric barrier discharge is ignited in an air jet generated by a blower. The discharge also generates the desired heat of the hot plasma jet.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,607,472 B2 discloses an apparatus for hand drying in which an ion generator enriches air jets emerging out of slot nozzles with ions which have a sterilizing effect. In this known apparatus, water blown away from the hands is collected, and a part of the air blown out of the slot nozzles is once again sucked in by a blower connected to the slot nozzles and thus circulated. The ion generator generates the ions by means of a corona discharge between two electrodes which are arranged upstream of the slot nozzles.
EP 2 656 762 A2 (corresponding to US 2013/0283629 A1) discloses an apparatus for drying hands comprising a housing in which a cavity accessible from the outside is formed for receiving the hands to be dried by means of an airflow. Further, a blower for generating the airflow and means for reducing germs in the airflow are arranged in the housing. These means for reducing the germs may be a device for supplying a germ-reducing substance to the airflow, a plasma or ion source and/or a radiation source. The plasma or ion source may be a microwave or high frequency plasma or ion source. The radiation source may be a UV radiator or a dielectric barrier discharge lamp. The known apparatus may further have an air outlet conduit and an air inlet conduit communicating with the cavity in such a way that the airflow may be circulated through the air outlet conduit and the air inlet conduit as well as the cavity. The means for reducing the germs are particularly arranged in the area of the air outlet conduit. They may, however, also be arranged in the cavity, if they are radiation sources, for example.
CN 103 876 678 A discloses an apparatus for hand drying comprising a blower, a heating wire, an electrode plate and an alternating voltage source. The blower generates a warm airflow onto the electrode plate by means of the heating wire. When a wet washed hand is stretched out on the electrode plate, discharges occur with regard to the wet surface of the hand. These discharges kill germs on the surface of the hand and remove water. Together with the warm airflow, the hand is dried quickly. The alternating voltage source provides an alternating voltage between the electrode plate and a grid, an isolator plate being arranged in between. The grid is facing the and the blower arranged upstream of the heating wire. It is not disclosed how in this arrangement a discharge for generating a plasma may be generated by means of the alternating voltage source with regard to the wet hand which has to be arranged on the grid to be subjected to the warm airflow.
JP 2013-244248 A discloses an apparatus for hand drying having a housing with a hand insertion opening. The hand insertion opening leads between nozzle plates with a plurality of nozzles which are oriented into the housing at a slant angle to blow off the hand inserted into the housing. On the backsides of the nozzle plates facing away from the hand, pairs of electrode plates are provided which have through-openings corresponding to the nozzles in the nozzle plates. At its opposing surfaces, the two electrode plates of each pair are provided with a dielectric coating. By applying an alternating voltage between the two electrodes, a plasma is ignited in air which is supplied by a blower before the air is blown out through the nozzle plates onto the hand.
There still is a need of a method of drying a hand and an apparatus for hand drying which efficiently kill germs on the surface of the hand and which efficiently avoid that germs from the hand are distributed into the surroundings.

Method of and apparatus for drying and plasma-assisted disinfection of hands

HOCHSCHULE FÜR ANGEWANDTE WISSENSCHAFT UND KUNST HILDESHEIM/HOLZMINDEN/GOETTINGEN


A mobile terminal including a body; a camera; a touchscreen provided to the front side of the body and having a plurality of corners; and a controller configured to operate the camera to capture an image upon reception of a first drag input applied to a first corner of the touchscreen and dragged to a center of the touchscreen.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal configured to be used in consideration of user convenience and a method for controlling the same.
2. Background of the Disclosure
Terminals may be generally classified as mobile/portable terminals or stationary terminals. Mobile terminals may also be classified as handheld terminals or vehicle mounted terminals.
Mobile terminals have become increasingly more functional. Examples of such functions include data and voice communications, capturing images and video via a camera, recording audio, playing music files via a speaker system, and displaying images and video on a display. Some mobile terminals include additional functionality which supports game playing, while other terminals are configured as multimedia players. More recently, mobile terminals have been configured to receive broadcast and multicast signals which permit viewing of content such as videos and television programs.

Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same


The security manhole insert cover relates to a locking manhole insert to prevent ingress or egress to a manhole from above or below the manhole to prevent access to underground utilities, tunnels and underneath buildings and metropolitan areas to eliminate security intrusions and terrorist attacks by underground access, which would otherwise go undetected if access to the underground utility passages were not secured. The manhole insert cover has a cylindrical locking insert barring access to the engaging and disengaging mechanism required to remove the manhole insert cover and an integrated lower cover to prevent access to the engaging and disengaging mechanism from below, the insert cover adapted to fit within a manhole without required modification of the manhole and without detection of the insert cover having been installed from above ground levels.

None
1. Field of Invention
The security manhole insert cover relates to a locking manhole insert to prevent ingress or egress to a manhole from above or below the manhole to prevent access to underground utilities, tunnels and underneath buildings and metropolitan areas to eliminate security intrusions and terrorist attacks by underground access, which would otherwise go undetected if access to the underground utility passages were not secured. The manhole insert cover has a cylindrical locking insert barring access to the engaging and disengaging mechanism required to remove the manhole insert cover and an integrated lower cover to prevent access to the engaging and disengaging mechanism from below, the insert cover adapted to fit within a manhole without required modification of the manhole and without detection of the insert cover having been installed from above ground levels.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following United States patents were discovered and are disclosed within this application for utility patent. All relate to locking hole covers.
A first series of prior art patents involve simple manhole inserts without disclosed locking mechanisms. Those two patents, U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,771 to Stetson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,564 to Neathery, disclose manhole inserts, Stetson merely providing a cover and ring which insert into a manhole and allow the insert to be filled with a road surfacing material to blend in with its surrounding roadway, the insert including at least two holes to allow water to pass through the insert. Neatherly is a sealed insert to prevent water intrusion into the manhole, with a pressure relief and vent access through the insert cover.
A second set of patents disclose manhole covers with locking devices, but not secure locking devices. Those patents include U.S. Pat. No. 911,256 to McWane, which discloses a meter box cover with a hinged lid that has a rotating closure means in the hinged lid, U.S. Pat. No. 1,001,041 to Jones, which discloses a rotating lock arm attached to a manhole cover which requires a key insertion to turn the rotating locking arm, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,458,391 to Burton, which has a turning handle that when lifted, provides a rotating force to rotate a cam to disengage two arms for removal of the manhole cover. Two more recent US patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,392 to Marchese and U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,824 to Fuller, involve more detailed mechanisms to engage and disengage their manhole covers to a hole or manhole, with Fuller having a threaded conical component that travels upward when rotated, forcing several locking wedges outward, anchoring the manhole cover to the hole by outward force, while Marchese involves spring loaded locking arms that require a rotating force to retract the spring loaded arms for removal of the manhole cover, the rotating force provided by a shaped key inserted into a respectively shaped keyhole.
A third set of US patents involve secure lock mechanisms to which padlocks are supplied as the securing component. These US Patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,291 to Wisniewski, U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,007 to Barton and U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,440 to Hill. Hill defines a manhole cover having a molly-type locking arm that is engaged and disengaged by several turns of the rotating shaft, to which includes an upper eyelet through which a chain is padlocked to prevent unauthorized turning of the shaft. Barton includes a locking bar bolted to a manhole insert by a nut through which a strand is pulled and padlocked to prevent removal of the nut from an upward extending stud. Wisniewski is a manhole insert having a rotating cam mechanism having a hasp that is padlocked to a stationary hasp to prevent disengagement of the extending locking arms. All three of these may be removed by the use of bolt cutters, which takes little time and makes little noise during use to bypass the securing.
None of the above devices prevent access from and under side and none of the above devices include a similar locking means, nor do they furnish the secure locking means as disclosed in the current invention. While they may each bear some semblance to the current invention, they do not, either singularly or in combination, disclose the features of the current invention.
More so now than at any time in the past, public awareness of domestic threats of security are presented, with focus on areas that would allow operations out of the ordinary perception. As this awareness increases, so does the potential for security breaches in areas that are not conspicuous, primarily those underground in urban or high security areas. Access to underground utilities, tunnel systems that travel beneath buildings and underground mass transit systems is often had through manholes that are either in the streets or sidewalks, these manholes existing for decades. In lieu of replacing the existing manhole systems with other costly modified access means, a security insert for manholes which offers virtual impenetrable ingress and egress is provided in the security manhole insert cover for manholes, preventing the removal of the insert cover from either the top or bottom without required alteration of the manholes.
The primary objective of the invention is to provide a security manhole seal to prevent access to underground tunnels and utilities by the application of an insert which does not require alteration of the manhole or its cover.
A secondary objective of the invention is to provide the security manhole insert cover with a completely sealed cam lock which cannot be accessed from the top or the bottom without having a key operating a cylindrical lock that denies access to the cam lock and cannot be picked , pried or cut with a mechanical tool.
A third objective of the invention is to fabricate the insert cover out of a material which can not be damaged or removed without complex intervention, i.e., plasma cutting tools and explosives, which would alert the general public to the use of such bypass means to access the manhole before such access was had. In furtherance of this objective, the entire insert cover is made of stainless steel.


A high-opacity cellulose-free synthetic paper is formed from a wet-laid nonwoven web of thermoplastic fibers, all or most of which fibers are made of a predetermined polymeric material. The wet-laid web is dried to remove excess water, drying being carried cut at temperatures below the melting temperature of the predetermined polymeric material. The dried nonwoven web is saturated on at least one side with a pigmented binder forming a continuous coating thereon. The binder is cured at temperatures below the melting temperature of the predetermined polymeric material.

It is conventional practice to make synthetic paper using synthetic pulp comprising short fibers of polyethylene. Such synthetic paper is made using polyethylene pulp with or without cellulose fibers. Such flexible polymeric synthetic substrates are used to make water-resistant cardboard, embossed paper, heat-sealing paper, battery separators, felt mats, hygienic absorbents and building materials. To meet the demands of various applications, many grades of polyethylene have become commercially available. These synthetic pulp products use polyethylenes of different physical properties. Polypropylene and polypropylene/polyethylene products are also known.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,121 to Kochar discloses a process for making synthetic paper containing at least 97 wt. % polyethylene on conventional continuous wet-lay papermaking equipment. The process includes the steps of: (1) preparing a pulp furnish comprising 97-99.5 wt. % polyethylene fibers and 0.5-3.0 wt. % polyvinyl alcohol binder fibers; (2) depositing the pulp furnish on the screen of a wet-lay papermaking machine to form a waterleaf sheet; (3) drying the resulting waterleaf sheet on heated drying cans having a drying profile wherein an initial drying phase is provided at a temperature between 200.degree. F. and 270.degree. F. to melt the polyvinyl alcohol fibers and a second drying phase is provided at a temperature between 190.degree. F. and 240.degree. F. to control stretch and elongation of the sheets; and (4) thermally bonding the dried sheet at a temperature between 250.degree. F. and 315.degree. F. to provide polyethylene paper. The thermal bonding can be accomplished with a calendar roll. The Kochar patent teaches that: (1) the strength of the synthetic paper can be tailored by varying the amount of polyvinyl alcohol fibers mixed into the polyethylene pulp; and (2) the porosity of the synthetic paper can be tailored by varying the bonding temperature.
In accordance with the teaching of the Kochar patent, the polyethylene pulp is fused to a degree dependent on the thermal bonding temperature. This results in a polyethylene paper which is suitable for the specific applications identified in that patent, i.e., filtration applications (e.g., vacuum cleaner bags) and battery separators. However, the low opacity of the resulting paper makes it unsuitable for use in high-quality printing. This is because the application of too much heat for a long duration causes the polyethylene pulp to flow to such a degree that it becomes increasingly translucent as it approaches a polyethylene film in structure.
Paper made of 100% synthetic fibers is useful as label paper. For example, the in-mold labeling of blow-molded plastic containers is less costly than conventional labeling methods in which labels with adhesive backing are adhered to the container in a separate step subsequent to blow molding. In-mold labeling eliminates this separate step, thereby reducing labor costs associated with handling of the adhesive-backed labels and capital costs associated with the equipment used to handle and apply adhesive-backed labels.
In accordance with conventional in-mold labeling of blow-molded plastic containers, labels are sequentially supplied from a magazine and positioned inside the mold by, for example, a vacuum-operated device. Plastic material is then extruded from a die to form a parison as depicted in FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,866 to Ohba et al., the description of which is specifically incorporated by reference herein. The mold is locked to seal the parison and then compressed air is fed from a nozzle to the inside of the parison to perform blow molding wherein the parison is expanded to conform to the inner surface of the mold. Simultaneously with the blow molding, the heat-sealable layer of the label of Ohba et al. is pressed by the outer side of the parison and fused thereto. Finally, the mold is cooled to solidify the molded container and opened to obtain a labeled hollow container.
For the sake of efficiency, it is desirable that the labeling of blow-molded containers be conducted continuously and rapidly. Also the labels to be applied during in-mold labeling should be sufficiently stiff that the automatic equipment used to handle the labels does not cause wrinkling or folding thereof. Conversely, the labels must be sufficiently elastic that they neither tear nor separate from the plastic container during flexing or squeezing of the latter.
A further disadvantage of conventional in-mold labels prepared from paper is that prior to recycling of the plastic container, the paper label must be removed using either solvent or mechanical means to avoid contamination of the recycled plastic material by small pieces of paper.
One prior art attempt to grapple with this recycling problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,075 to Dudley, which teaches a coextruded plastic film label for in-mold labeling of blow-molded polyethylene containers. The label comprises a heat-activatable ethylene polymer adhesive layer and a surface printable layer comprising polystyrene. The heat activatable adhesive substrate layer comprises a polyethylene polymer. Pigment or fillers are incorporated in the polystyrene layer to provide a suitable background for printing. An example of a suitable pigment is titanium dioxide and an example of a suitable filler is calcium carbonate. Preferably a layer is interposed between the adhesive substrate and the surface printable layer that comprises reground and recycled thermoplastic material used to prepare such labels. The label stock is prepared by coextrusion of the various label layers utilizing conventional coextrusion techniques. Separately applied adhesive is not employed.
The aforementioned patent to Ohba et al. teaches a synthetic label for in-mold labeling of blow-molded resin containers comprising a thermoplastic resin film base layer and a heat-sealable resin layer having a melting point lower than that of the thermoplastic resin base layer. The base layer has an inorganic filler, such as titanium dioxide or calcium carbonate, incorporated therein or incorporated in a latex coating thereon. The base layer may, for example, be high-density polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate. The heat-sealable resin layer may, for example, be low-density polyethylene. The heat-sealable resin layer serves to firmly adhere the label to a resin container. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the Ohba et al. label material for use on a blow-molded container made of polyethylene, four separate layers are joined together by coextrusion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,394 to Baird teaches a polymeric film structure having a high percentage of fillers, for example, opacifying or whitening agents such as titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate. The fillers are concentrated in a separate filler containing layer coextruded with a base layer. The base layer may comprise polyolefins (for example, polyethylenes), polyesters or nylons. The filler-containing layer may comprise any of the same polymeric materials, but preferably comprises ethylene vinyl acetate coploymer. However, this film material is intended for use in disposable consumer products such as diapers.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,947 to Guckert et al. discloses a thermally bonded composite sheet comprising a layer of flash-spun polyethylene plexifilamentary film-fibril strand sheet in face-to-face contact with a layer of polyethylene synthetic pulp suitable for use in bar code printing. The layer of polyethylene synthetic pulp is formed by conventional wet-lay papermaking techniques.
The Dudley and Ohba et al. patents both disclose an in-mold label having a multiplicity of layers coextruded together. This complexity of structure raises the costs of manufacturing the respective in-mold label materials. Although there is no suggestion in the Baird patent that the film material disclosed therein would be suitable for use as in-mold label paper, if it were usable for that purpose it would suffer from the same disadvantage of being a relatively complex laminated structure and therefore relatively costly to manufacture. Likewise the patent to Guckert et al. discloses a laminated structure.

Recyclable polymeric synthetic paper and method for its manufacture


An engine cylinder block includes a control valve and stratified layers defining a network internal to the cylinder block. The network includes a main feed line in fluid communication with the control valve, and branched and winding arterial channels extending from the main feed line with diameters that taper to define nozzles configured to spray coolant on sides of pistons carried within the cylinder block.

To function properly and efficiently, an automotive engine requires cooling. Typical cooling systems include delivery of oil to different portions of the engine such as the pistons. Yet typically, piston oil delivery systems are passive systems, responding to a change of pressure within components without an ability to adjust to different performance needs of the engine.


A bariatric transport is provided. The transport includes a bed area for use by a bariatric patient. The transport further includes a drive assembly that is operable to selectively drive the transport in forward and rearward directions and permit turning of the transport with little or no lateral movement of the transport. Leading and trailing stabilizing wheel assemblies are provided that are selectively moveable into and out of engagement with a supporting floor. Drive devices are also provided to provide selective elevating and lowering of various components of bariatric patient supports.

In recent years, the health care industry has become more aware of the needs that larger-sized patients have during hospitalization and other long term care stays. Those patients that exceed a certain weight and body mass index (BMI), typically 400 pounds and a BMI of 40, are referred to as "bariatric" patients. Bariatric patients often suffer from health ailments related to being bed ridden for extended periods of time, such as skin conditions and poor blood circulation. Additionally, bariatric patients are often difficult for health care providers or workers to physically lift and position because of their size. Injuries are common among nurses and nurse assistants working with these types of patients, and it is estimated that a single back injury to a provider costs the health care industry between $15,000 and $18,000.
To address these issues, special equipment has been devised for moving bariatric patients from place to place, and also to serve as their bed in health care facilities. A portable bariatric bed resting on a number of wheels is one such device, combining a mattress system configured to facilitate air circulation beneath the patient with an articulating frame that can be adjusted to a number of positions beneficial to moving the position of the patient on the mattress, as well as moving them into and out of the bed.
While advances have been made in bariatric bed design, significant problems still exist with maneuvering this type of equipment within a facility. Due to the sheer size of bariatric beds and the combined weight of both the bed and the patient (sometimes exceeding 1600 pounds), most health care workers find it difficult to push and steer these beds in a desired direction of travel. For instance, if a worker were pushing a loaded bariatric transport down a hallway and wished to turn right or left into a room, the inertia of the bed would make it difficult to slow down the speed of the bed and initiate rotation into a doorway. Further, workers may excessively strain themselves in attempting to steer the bed, putting a worker at risk for physical injuries, some of which could be career ending. The need to transport patients on such beds quickly and safely is even more acute in an emergency evacuation situation (e.g., fire, tornado, terrorism threat), where a finite number of workers must move a set number of patients into a safe area of a building or completely out of a building. With bariatric patients, as many as 5 or 6 workers may be required to maneuver the loaded bed, compromising their ability to care for other patients in need. Difficulties also arise in situations where a bed needs to be rotated in place without moving laterally too much in any direction (e.g., within a patient's room). Workers will often find that it is difficult to gauge and control whether the bed is actually rotating in place or "wandering" toward a wall, medical equipment, or other hazards.
Some portable hospital beds include a propulsion system for aiding a worker in moving the bed. However, existing powered bed designs are frequently complicated and often cannot be used to actually drive and steer the bed. Furthermore, such beds often lack an operator friendly control system for directing the bed in a desired movement pattern.

Bariatric transport with improved maneuverability


A method/system of wireless payment of parking fees for a vehicle, applicable to both open street and closed garage parking, wherein the user and checker experiences are enhanced relative to the prior art by a number of means, including: autonomous sensing of the user's/vehicle's location and allowing the user to correct the indicated location if required; enabling a handset to automatically sense the ID of the vehicle in which it is located; enabling rapid and facile enforcement by providing the Checker with information about the location, parking session status and other attributes of parked vehicles and displaying the information on a portable terminal in a manner facilitating rapid validation; and further facilitating the identification of vehicles with expired sessions by a method/system of RF interrogation involving RF tags located in/on the vehicles and the checking terminal querying the RF tags.

Any parking system consists of the following main features: (a) authorization—a method of seeking permission to park by the user and by the Parking Authority to grant authorization; (b) payment—a method of collecting payment from the user; (c) validation—a method of checking whether the authorized time has run out or the vehicle was never authorized; (d) enforcement—a method used by the parking authority for penalizing vehicles that have not paid or have overstayed their authorized time. The term, "targeted enforcement" refers to enforcement that is selectively targeted at a subset of the general population of vehicles.
These requirements are fundamental—they are present in legacy systems and continue to be requirements for new systems. Modern systems and methods are using wireless technologies to improve consumer experience and reduce the cost of providing service while still meeting the above requirements. Some examples of prior art methods are described below.
Open, Roadside, Coin Operated Parking Meters
A mechanical device, known as a parking meter, is permanently mounted on the sidewalk and associated with a particular marked parking space on the street. The user (person wishing to occupy a parking space) inserts coins of denominations usually specified on the parking meter into a slot in the meter. The total value of the coins inserted corresponds to an authorized parking duration, which is displayed by the meter. As time elapses, a clockwork mechanism in the meter reduces the authorized time until the latter is completely exhausted. Thereupon, a prominent sign (often a red flag) that the authorized time has expired is displayed. If a vehicle is parked in a spot where the meter has run out, it is liable to be penalized by the parking authority, often by being given a paper ticket. Human collectors periodically collect the coins deposited in the meters.
Gated Parking Lots (Closed Garages)
In such systems, a variety of means are used to determine when a vehicle entered and exited the lot. These may include the user getting a paper ticket with the entry time numerically stamped or bar-coded on to the ticket. The parking fee may be a flat fee or dependent on the time a vehicle spends in the parking lot. The method of payment may be by cash or credit card and may involve a human operating the exit gate and manually validating the paper ticket. Alternatively, the user may pay by credit card at a payment kiosk, which stamps an "authorization to exit" on the parking ticket, which is valid for a time period that is sufficient to allow the user to exit. The user may exit by presenting the ticket at a gate operated by an automated ticket reader or a human operator.
There are also prior art, gated parking lots where the user is required to swipe a credit card or a special identification (ID) token issued by the garage at the point of entry (before entry is allowed). The garage is equipped with a computer that identifies the vehicle by the credit card or the identification token and keeps track of elapsed time until the vehicle exits the garage, at which point, the user swipes the credit card or ID token a second time. The second swiping causes the garage computer to calculate the vehicle's stay duration and accordingly charges the credit card or some other pre-arranged payment system.
Open-Access Parking Lots with Payment Kiosks
More recently, owing to the difficulty of maintenance and payment collection, coin operated parking meters are being replaced with multi-space payment kiosks. A kiosk may serve a large number of open-access (i.e. non-gated) numbered or un-numbered parking spaces. The user parks his vehicle in an available space, enters his space-number (if the parking spaces are numbered) on the operating console of the kiosk and requests to occupy the specified space for a specified time period. The kiosk issues a paper ticket, or token, containing the space-number and the authorized time, sometimes by specifying the time of day when the token expires. If the parking spaces are un-numbered, the ticket does not contain a space-number field. The user is required to display the ticket prominently so that parking authority agents may inspect vehicles for enforcement.
Payment by Wireless
In the past several years, a number of wireless payment systems have been introduced to replace the coin operated meter and the payment kiosks described in the previous sections. In most cases, a cellphone, or Handset, is involved and the systems are generally referred to as, "pay by cell." This has been facilitated by the fact that modern cellphones (Handsets) can engage in payment transactions with a remote server either via commonly available cellular data services or through automated voice activated systems. The Verrus system is an example of prior art use of wireless means for parking authorization and payment.
In the Verrus system, the user's credentials, such as mobile phone number, vehicle license plate number, credit card number and other information are required to be pre-registered with Verrus. Once registered, the user can park his vehicle in parking lots with which Verrus has established a business arrangement to allow its method of remote payment. The following are prominently displayed in the lot: (a) the fact that this is a Verrus authorized parking lot and (b) a parking lot ID number. The user sends an SMS or makes a phone call to communicate the parking lot ID and her requested parking duration. Parking authority agents (Checkers) can verify the authorization status of parked vehicles by accessing the Verrus server, which is remotely accessible to the Checker.
Other similar systems have also been deployed in many major cities. For example, a cashless parking system has been developed by Parkmobile and deployed in several states in the United States. As in the Verrus system, the user has a prearranged payment agreement with Parkmobile, which is the Parking Service Provider. In order to initiate a parking session, the user has to communicate a Parking Zone ID to a Parkmobile server via his mobile phone. This communication can occur by calling a phone number or entering data on the user's mobile phone as part of executing a downloaded mobile application. The method of enforcement is based on a Checker determining the compliance status of each individual vehicle (with respect to the duration of stay and the paid parking fee) using a handheld Checking Terminal to access the Parking Application Server.
Although remote wireless payment systems and methods in support of parking applications are burgeoning in the prior art, these systems currently offer suboptimal user and Checker experiences. Some examples are provided below.
In the prior art systems, requesting parking authorization requires the user to perform one or more of the following operations: (a) make a phone call and verbally communicate various information, including the Parking Zone ID; (b) manually send an SMS with the above information; (c) find and read the zone ID applicable to given parking spot, launch an application on a smart phone and enter data in response to a query from the application. Performing these operations while parked on a busy and noisy street is inconvenient and potentially risky.
Both user and Checker experiences are significantly improved in the present invention. The Checker's job has actually been made more difficult in some prior art wireless parking payment systems. For example, in the Parkmobile system, vehicle's belonging to Parkmobile customers are parked beside other vehicles with no features distinguishing the Parkmobile vehicles. A vehicle of the latter type may be parked in front of a legacy coin meter with an indication of expired session (e.g. a red flag). For every vehicle so parked, the Checker has to first ascertain if it is a Parkmobile vehicle before he can issue a fine (ticket). This ascertaining may be performed by the Checker manually entering the license plate number of the vehicle on to a handheld Checking Terminal connected wirelessly to a Parkmobile server and the server responding with a message stating whether the vehicle is a Parkmobile customer's vehicle with an expired session. The task may be slightly lightened by the license plate being scanned and uploaded to the server electronically. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that, even if a single Parkmobile vehicle is present among ten other vehicles which are not Parkmobile vehicles, the Checker has to perform the above process for each one of the eleven vehicles. Before the Parkmobile system was introduced, the Checker could issue tickets purely based on the indicated status of the coin meter.
It is further noteworthy that, as present pay by cell systems do not indicate the parked locations of their vehicles with a spatial resolution better than a city block (a city block is the range typically covered by a Zone ID in the Parkmobile system and Zone ID is the highest resolution of vehicle location information available in that system), the Checker has to do a considerable amount of "hunting" to find the approximate locations of vehicles participating in these systems. As explained above, when these vehicles are intermingled with legacy vehicles (not participating in the pay by cell system), it greatly increases the workload of the Checker.

Methods and systems for electronic payment for parking using autonomous position sensing


The present disclosure relates to a process for the conversion of organic material to methane rich gas. In particular, the process comprises heating vaporized organic material in the presence of an excess amount of hydrogen gas and superheated steam to produce a methane rich fuel gas at pressures greater than 0 atmospheres gauge up to about 2 atmosphere gauge.

The world's power demands are expected to rise 60% by 2030 (World Energy Outlook, Paris IEA, 2004-10-26 pp. 31). The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that fossil fuels will account for 85% of the energy market by 2030. In fossil fuel power plants the chemical energy stored in fossil fuels (for example, coal, fuel oil, natural gas and oil shale) and oxygen from air is converted successively into thermal energy, mechanical energy and, finally, electrical energy for continuous use and distribution. Most thermal power generating stations in the world use fossil fuel, outnumbering nuclear, geothermal, biomass and solar thermal plants.
Natural gas, which is predominantly methane, is widely used in many industries both as a feedstock for chemical synthesis and as a major source of electricity generation through the use of gas and steam turbines. Natural gas burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, and produces less greenhouse gas per unit energy released. Power generation using natural gas is thus the cleanest fossil fuel source of energy available and this technology is used wherever competitive. Compressed natural gas is also used as a clean alternative for automobile fuels.
Natural gas can be used to produce hydrogen through carbon dioxide reforming and water gas shift reactions. Hydrogen has various applications, for example, it is a primary feed stock for the chemical industry, a hydrogenating agent and a fuel source in hydrogen based-fuel cells, for example in hydrogen vehicles.
The increasing price of natural gas, along with diminishing domestic supply, creates incentive for other sources of this fuel. Gasification of fossil fuels, for example coal, is one option, however, most commercially ready coal gasifiers are predominantly designed to produce syngas that is high in carbon monoxide and hydrogen while minimizing the methane content.
Existing methods of destroying organic waste material are usually accomplished using high temperature incineration. These incinerators are very capital intensive, and therefore require large installations, which increase public concern. They are also expensive to operate and have exhibited a history of blow-backs or explosions caused during loading of the hazardous materials.
The following are a group of patents related to commercial attempts at gasification and steam reforming:    TSANGARIS, Andreas, and Marc BACON, PCT patent application no. WO 2008/138118;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, and Marc BACON, PCT patent application no. WO 2008/138117;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, and Margaret SWAIN, PCT patent application no. WO/2008/117119;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, and Marc BACON, PCT patent application no. WO 2008/104088;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, and Marc BACON, PCT patent application no. WO 2008/104058;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Margaret SWAIN, Kenneth Craig CAMPBELL, Douglas Michael FEASBY, Thomas Edward WAGLER, Scott Douglas BASHAM, Mao Pei CUI, Zhiyuan SHEN, Ashish CHOTALIYA, Nipun SONI, Alisdair Alan MCLEAN, Geoffrey DOBBS, Pascale Bonnie MARCEAU, and Xiaoping ZOU. PCT patent application no. WO/2008/011213;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, and Margaret SWAIN, PCT patent application no. WO 2007/143673;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Margaret SWAIN, Kenneth Craig CAMPBELL, Douglas Michael FEASBY, Thomas Edward WAGLER, Scott, Douglas BASHAM, Zhiyuan SHEN, Geoffrey DOBBS, Mao Pei CUI, and Alisdair Alan MCLEAN, PCT patent application no. WO/2007/131241;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Margaret SWAIN, Douglas Michael FEASBY, Scott Douglas BASHAM, Ashish CHOTALIYA, and Pascale Bonnie MARCEAU, PCT patent application no. WO 2007/131240;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Margaret SWAIN, Kenneth Craig CAMPBELL, Douglas Michael FEASBY, Thomas Edward WAGLER, Xiaoping ZOU, Alisdair Alan MCLEAN, and Pascale Bonnie MARCEAU, PCT patent application no. WO 2007/131239;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Margaret SWAIN, Douglas Michael FEASBY, Scott Douglas BASHAM, Nipun SONI, and Pascale Bonnie MARCEAU, PCT patent application no. WO 2007/131236;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Margaret SWAIN, Kenneth Craig CAMPBELL, Douglas Michael FEASBY, Scott Douglas BASHAM, Alisdair Alan McLEAN, and Pascale Bonnie MARCEAU, PCT patent application no. WO 2007/131235;    TSANGARIS, Andreas and Margaret SWAIN. PCT patent application no. WO 2007/131234;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Kenneth C. CAMPBELL, and Michael D. FEASBY and Ke LI, PCT patent application no. WO 2006/128286;    TSANGARIS, Andreas, Kenneth C. CAMPBELL, Michael D. FEASBY, and Ke LI, PCT patent application no. WO 2006/128285;    TSANGARIS, Andreas V., and Kenneth C. CAMPBELL; PCT patent application no. WO 2006/081661;    TSANGARIS, Andreas V., George W. CARTER, Jesse Z., SHEN, Michael D. FEASBY, and Kenneth C. CAMPBELL, PCT patent application no. WO 2004/072547;    ZWIERSCHKE, Jayson, and Ernest George DUECK, PCT patent application no. WO/2006/076801;    SHETH, Atul C. PCT patent application no. WO/2007/143376.
The following are other patents related to hazardous waste destruction:    Abdullah, Shahid. Method for Degradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Soil. U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,472;    Almeida, Fernando Carvalho. U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,163;    Anderson, Perry D., Bhuvan C. Pant, Zhendi Wang, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,429;    Baghel, Sunita S., and Deborah A. Haitko. U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,736;    Balko, Edward N., Jeffrey B. Hoke, and Gary A. Gramiccioni. U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,268;    Batchelor, Bill, Alison Marie Hapka, Godwin Joseph Igwe, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,649;    Bender, Jim. U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,335;    Boles, Jeffrey L., Johnny R. Gamble, and Laura Lackey. U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,423.    Bolsing, Friedrich, and Achim Habekost. Process for the Reductive Dehalogenation of Halogenated Hydrocarbons. U.S. Pat. No. 6,649,044;    Cutshall, Eule R., Gregory Felling, Sheila D. Scott, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,823;    Dellinger, Harold Barrett, and John L. Graham. U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,549;    Driemel, Klaus, Joachim Wolf, and Wolfgang Schwarz. Process for Nonpolluting Destruction of Polychlorinated Waste Materials. U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,155;    Farcasiu, Malvina, and Steven C. Petrosius. U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,214;    Friedman, Arthur J., and Yuval Halpern. U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,432;    Ginosar, Daniel M., Robert V. Fox, and Stuart K. Janikowski. U.S. Pat. No. 6,984,768;    Gonzalez, Luciano A., Henry E. Kowalyk, and Blair F. Sim. U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,212;    Gonzalez, Luciano A., Dennis F. Mullins, W. John Janis, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,454;    Greenberg, Richard S., and Thomas Andrews. U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,328;    Levin, George B. U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,298;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,638;    Newman, Gerard K., Jeffrey H. Harwell, and Lance Lobban. U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,856;    Potter, Raleigh Wayne, and Michael Fitzgerald. U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,029;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,675;    Quimby, Jay M. U.S. Statutory Invention Registration H2198H;    Reagen, William Kevin, and Stuart Kevin Janikowski. U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,604;    Rickard, Robert S. U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,578;    Ruddick, John N. R., and Futong Cui. U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,829;    Schulz, Helmut W. U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,113;    Sparks, Kevin A., and James E. Johnston. U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,732; and    Zachariah, Michael R., and Douglas P. DuFaux. U.S. Pat. No. 593,613.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,511 to Hallett describes the treatment of organic material by use of a process which combines a gas phase chemical reduction in a reducing atmosphere at a high temperature above about 600° C., preferably above 875° C., and thereafter, subjecting said material to chemical oxidation with a gaseous oxidizing agent at a temperature above about 1000° C. However, this process results in the production of a tarry material, which can result in the process being halted to remove the tarry material.

Process for the conversion of organic material to methane rich fuel gas


Techniques for placing and manipulating multiple three-dimensional (3D) models using mobile augmented reality (AR) are described. One technique includes receiving a first request to initialize an AR simulation of a first product for sale within a physical environment. In response to the first request, a first 3D model of the first product for sale is rendered onto the screen. After rendering the first 3D model, a second request to visualize a second product for sale within the physical environment is received during the AR simulation of the first product for sale. In response to the second request, a second 3D model of the second product for sale is rendered onto the screen with the first 3D model.

The present invention relates to augmented reality (AR), and more specifically, to techniques for manipulating multiple virtual objects in AR on a computing device.
AR involves superimposing computer generated imagery on a user's view of the real-world environment. An AR system can use a video device to display a series of images (or video feed) of the real-world environment to a user, where the images have various virtual objects inserted into appropriate places in the environment. For example, the AR system can identify a real-world object of a table, so that a virtual object of a cup may be displayed on the video device as appearing on the table (e.g., from the perspective of the video device). AR can be used for shopping, navigational purposes, games, construction/architectural projects, educational purposes, and the like.

Placing and manipulating multiple three-dimensional (3D) models using mobile augmented reality


Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for improving a user experience based on electronic records of transactions. Embodiments include training a classifier using training data comprising a set of historical transaction descriptions and a set of corresponding historical classifications that indicate whether or not each historical transaction description of the set of historical transaction descriptions is associated with a user location. Embodiments further include receiving a transaction record describing a transaction associated with a user. Embodiments further include using the classifier to determine a classification for the transaction. The classification indicates whether or not the transaction description is associated with a location of the user. Embodiments further include providing, based at least in part on the classification, a communication to the user that relates to the location of the user.

Applications often provide users with various features based on electronic records of transactions associated with the users. For example, a financial services application may provide a user with various features related to financial management based on electronic records of the user's financial transactions retrieved from the user's bank and/or credit card accounts. Certain features may be based on location information associated with transaction records. For example, fraud prevention features may be based on a user location associated with a transaction.
It is often challenging or impossible to determine a user location based on an electronic record of a transaction. For example, a transaction record may not include any location-related information. Furthermore, not all location-related information associated with a transaction record is necessarily related to a user location. For example, an electronic record of a transaction between a user and an online retailer may include location information (e.g., the headquarters of the online retailer) that is unrelated to a location of the user. Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques for providing users with features based on location information associated with transaction records.

Methods for identifying transactions with user location information