Abstract: An electronic smoking article includes an outer tube extending in a longitudinal direction, an inner tube within the outer tube and including a pair of opposing slots, a liquid supply comprising a liquid material, a coil heater, a wick and a mouth end insert. The coil heater is located in the inner tube. The coil heater is formed of an iron-free, nickel-chromium alloy and has substantially uniformly spaced windings. The wick is surrounded by the coil heater such that the wick delivers liquid material to the coil heater and the coil heater heats the liquid material to a temperature sufficient to vaporize the liquid material and form an aerosol in the inner tube.

Abstract: Telemetry data may be included in packet exchanges of authentication protocols. In one example, a tag, associated with shipped goods, authenticates with a local area network that is associated with a destination of the goods. An identification is received from the tag and the authentication and the identification are sent to a remote location as an indication of the goods being at the destination.

Abstract: A low power flip-flop circuit and its operation are described. In one example, the circuit includes a clocked gate for producing an output in response to an input when a clock is received, and a clock control circuit to receive the clock and the input, to determine whether the output will be changed by the input and to provide the clock to the clocked gate if the output will be changed by the input.

Abstract: The location of an item may be determined by first determining a coarse location and then a fine location. In one example, a coarse position of a tagged item is determined using a coarse positioning system and the item's tag. A mobile unit, carrying a fine positioning system, is moved to the determined coarse position. Then, a fine position of the tagged item is determined by communicating between the fine positioning system of the moved mobile unit and the item's tag.

Abstract: A method of determining a geographical location of an asset tracking device, includes searching, by the asset tracking device, for available location determination schemes at the geographical location, selecting one of the available location determination schemes, and determining coordinates of the geographical location using the selected location determination scheme. Some embodiments also include making a decision based, at least in part, upon the geographical location coordinates determined by using the selected location determination scheme. Some embodiments include transmitting a location message, the location message including the coordinates of the geographical location and an indication as to the selected location determination scheme.

Abstract: Devices, such as tracking devices, cooperate with one another to establish the routing necessary for a relay network in which a device having power-efficient and data-reliable communication with an access portal, operates to relay messages from devices which do not have an acceptable communication path to and/or from the access portal. In one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of devices synchronously determine whether an acceptable communication path can be established between themselves and one or more access portals by measuring the signal strength of an access portal beacon. In another aspect of the present invention, one or more devices, which have determined that an acceptable communication path can be established between themselves and an access portal, transmit information regarding their availability to relay messages on behalf of devices which have determined that an acceptable communication path cannot be established between themselves and an access portal.