Abstract: A telephone system including a process for redirection of voice mail messages to another voice mail box after a predetermined time or after a predetermined number of attempts at notification by radio pager of the owner of voice mail box in which a new voice mail message has been left have failed to cause the voice mail message to be picked up.

Abstract: A method of producing an aqueous solution of water-soluble polyacrylamide (PAM) with a concentration of at least about 5 grams per liter includes the steps of providing a monovalent or divalent cation salt solution, and preferably a calcium salt solution, and adding water-soluble PAM particles to the salt solution such that the PAM particles are essentially all dissolved within about 10 seconds. The PAM particles are characterized by a particle size that is about −100 mesh and consisting essentially of molecules having a molecular weight of at least about 15 million a.u. Preferably, the small PAM particles are produced by a mill that produces bulk quantities of small dry, flowable PAM particles from larger commercial grade particles. Small PAM particles produced in such a mill are essentially all soluble in plain water within about 10 seconds. After solution, the polymer concentrate can be diluted with water to make stock solutions of the polymer for some purposes.

Abstract: In a convective system that includes a blower to thermally treat and pressurize air, a convective device to receive and convect the thermally-treated pressurized air, and an air hose to conduct a flow of thermally-treated pressurized air from the blower to an inlet port in the convective device, an interface device is provided to control the flow of air at the interface where the inlet port and an end of the air hose operate to conduct the flow of air out of the air hose into the convective device. The interface device is received at the end of the air hose and operates to support the flow of air out of the end when the end and the inlet port are brought together. The interface device operates to stop, inhibit, or restrict the flow of air out of the end when the end and the inlet port are separated.

Abstract: A laryngeal airway device for sealing against the laryngeal opening includes an air tube with proximal and distal ends and a sealing member attached to the distal end. The airway device includes a tubular extension or snout for delivering air directly into the laryngeal opening; the snout is tapered and “hooded” in a manner that facilitates effective positioning of the airway device. The sealing member includes a coupler for coupling the device to an introducer. Complementing the laryngeal airway device is an introducer that includes a track for receiving the coupler of the laryngeal airway device and guiding the sealing member to a sealing position with respect to the laryngeal inlet.

Abstract: A system for strategy management within an organization. The system includes a shared strategic plan, and a first processing device controllable by a user having a user identification. The first processing device includes a first communications module operable to communicate the user identification, to communicate a request to receive at least a portion of the shared strategic plan, and to receive the requested portion after communicating the user identification and the request. The system further includes a second processing device. The second processing device includes an administration module operable to validate that the user has permission to receive the requested portion, and a communications module. The communications module is operable to receive the user identification from the first processing device, and to communicate the requested portion to the first processing device when the user identification is valid.

Abstract: A telephone system which detects ring signals and detects caller ID signals and decodes them into caller ID data and then reformats the caller ID data into one or more alphanumeric strings useable by another computer process such as a point of sale computer process. User input is accepted such as by manipulation of switches to control the telephone system so as to add predetermine prefix or suffix codes or data to one or more items of caller ID data in accordance with the occurrence or existence of predetermined conditions that must be signalled to the computer process using the caller ID data being formatted by the telephone system.

Abstract: The invention provides methods of disintegrating or reducing the particle size of elemental materials, such as various forms of carbon, and organic crystals that contain minerals and that do not contain minerals. The method include the steps of entraining the material in a gas flow through an inlet of a housing, subjecting the flowing material to a plurality of alternating pressure increases and decreases within the housing, disintegrating the flowing material with the pressure increases and decreases, thereby reducing the mean particle size of the material, and discharging the disintegrated material though an outlet of the housing.

Abstract: A laryngeal airway device for sealing against the laryngeal opening includes an air tube with proximal and distal ends and a sealing member attached to the distal end. The sealing member includes a coupler for coupling the device to an introducer. Complementing the laryngeal airway device is an introducer that includes a track for receiving the coupler of the laryngeal airway device and guiding the sealing member to a sealing position with respect to the laryngeal inlet. The introducer may include an epiglottic engager on a distal end to engage the epiglottis and retain it while the sealing member is being tracked to engagement with the laryngeal inlet.

Abstract: A stable aqueous suspension of water-soluble polyacrylamide particles is in a saturated solution of an ammonium salt. The polyacrylamide particles are characterized by a particle size of about −150 mesh, and preferably −270 mesh, with −400 mesh most preferred. The suspension is at least about 2.5% by weight polyacrylamide. When the ammonium salt is ammonium sulfate, PAM concentrations as high as about 15% by weight can be achieved while still being easily flowable. The suspension is made by stirring the small particle PAM into the saturated ammonium salt solution. The PAM can be quickly dissolved to form a less concentrated PAM solution by adding the suspension to water or to a dilute solution, which can include calcium salts or other soil enhancers.

Abstract: A method of liberating intracellular matter from biological material having cells with cell walls includes subjecting the biological material to rapid pressure increases and decreases, and exceeding the elastic limit of the cell walls with the pressure increases and decreases, thereby opening the cell walls and liberating the intracellular material from the cells. This produces a heterogenous mixture of cell wall fragments and the intracellular material. Where the biological material includes pieces of plant animal or fungal material, the method can further include separating the cells of the pieces from each other with the pressure increases and decreases when the elastic limit of intercellular bonds are exceeded. Water and volatiles in the biological material is liberated and vaporized, producing a substantially dry mixture having a lower water content than the original material.

Abstract: A method of producing an aqueous solution of water-soluble polyacrylamide (PAM) with a concentration of at least about 5 grams per liter includes the steps of providing a monovalent or divalent cation salt solution, and preferably a calcium salt solution, and adding water-soluble PAM particles to the salt solution such that the PAM particles are essentially all dissolved within about 10 seconds. The PAM particles are characterized by a particle size that is about −100 mesh and consisting essentially of molecules having a molecular weigtht of at least about 15 million a.u. Preferably, the small PAM particles are produced by a mill that produces bulk quantities of small dry, flowable PAM particles from larger commercial grade particles. Small PAM particles produced in such a mill are essentially all soluble in plain water within about 10 seconds. After solution, the polymer concentrate can be diluted with water to make stock solutions of the polymer for some purposes.

Abstract: A telephone system including improved voicemail wherein a digital signal processor scans data to be recorded in a voicemail message to find DTMF tones or DTMF mimics in the voice data and removes them from the recording. In one embodiment, the DSP scans for DTMF tones or mimics in the stream of data to be recorded and removes them before recording the data. In another embodiment, the DSP scans for DTMF tones and mimics in the stream of data to be recorded, and marks the starting point and ending point in the stream where DTMF tones or mimics are found, records all the data and then goes back to the recording after it is finished and looks for the markers and removes all data between the markers.

Abstract: A laryngeal airway device for sealing against the laryngeal opening includes an air tube with proximal and distal ends and a sealing member attached to the distal end. The sealing member includes a coupler for coupling the device to an introducer. Complementing the laryngeal airway device is an introducer that includes a track for receiving the coupler of the laryngeal airway device and guiding the sealing member to a sealing position with respect to the laryngeal inlet. The introducer may include an epiglottic engager on a distal end to engage the epiglottis and retain it while the sealing member is being tracked to engagement with the laryngeal inlet.

Abstract: An airway device for sealing against the laryngeal opening includes an air tube with proximal and distal ends and a sealing member attached to the distal end. The sealing member has a distal portion with a pair of opposing lateral flanges for engaging the cricoid cartilage to laterally align the sealing member with respect to the laryngeal inlet. The sealing member has a compressible anterior surface that contacts and seals against the laryngeal inlet. A tubular extension of the distal end of the air tube projects through and beyond the compressible anterior surface. The sealing member has a pronounced sigmoid shape having a lower section which, together with the tubular extension, creates a hook that provides an end point for accurate cephalad-caudad depth placement of the sealing member against the rim of the laryngeal inlet.

Abstract: A laryngeal airway device for scaling against the laryngeal opening includes an air tube with proximal and distal ends and a sealing member attached to the distal end. The sealing member includes a coupler for coupling the device to an introducer. Complementing the laryngeal airway device is an introducer that includes a track for receiving the coupler of the laryngeal airway device and guiding the sealing member to a sealing position with respect to the laryngeal inlet. The introducer may include an epiglottic engager on a distal end to engage the epiglottis and retain it while the sealing member is being tracked to engagement with the laryngeal inlet.

Abstract: A nonionic surfactant having cyclic 1,3-dioxane and/or 1,3-dioxolane functionality which is irreversibly splittable by lowering the pH of its aqueous solution is useful in various processes requiring the removal of emulsified hydrophobic contaminants or other hydrophobic materials from an aqueous stream. After splitting of the surfactant into its component aldehyde and polyol, the hydrophobic components phase-separate and can be removed from the aqueous stream by routine means.

Abstract: A telephone system which detects ring signals and detects caller ID signals and decodes them into caller ID data and then reformats the caller ID data into one or more alphanumeric strings useable by another computer process such as a point of sale computer process. User input is accepted such as by manipulation of switches to control the telephone system so as to add predetermine prefix or suffix codes or data to one or more items of caller ID data in accordance with the occurrence or existence of predetermined conditions that must be signalled to the computer process using the caller ID data being formatted by the telephone system.

Abstract: An apparatus pulverizes material composed of wet or dry discrete objects into relatively smaller particles with shock waves created by flowing the material through a housing having alternating rotors and orifice plates. The housing includes a first end having a feed chute for introducing the material into the housing, a second end having an opening for removing the smaller particles, and internal sides meeting in corners, which extend longitudinally between the first and second ends. A rotatable shaft extends substantially along a longitudinal central axis of the housing. Rotors each include a hub coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith, a substantially polygonal-shaped rotor plate centrally fixed to the hub and having apices, and a plurality of vanes each vanes extending approximately radially inward on a side of the rotor plate from an apex. Each orifice plate extends inwardly from the internal sides of the housing to a central aperture which provides an orifice around the shaft.

Abstract: A telephone with a selectable level of sidetone for use in noisy environments. The selectable level of sidetone is achieved by forming a switch-controlled feedback path including a gain setting resistor from the output of a transmit amplifier in a hybrid circuit to a summing node virtual ground at one input of a differential amplifier driving the handset speaker. The summing node is also coupled to the audio output port of the three port hybrid so as to also receive incoming audio signals from the tip and ring lines. A microcontroller having configuration data controls whether the switch is closed and the feedback path exists or the switch is open and no feedback occurs. Lower sidetone or no sidetone is useful in phones used in noisy environments such as factory floors or restaurants.

Abstract: An apparatus pulverizes material composed of wet or dry discrete objects into relatively smaller particles with shock waves created by flowing the material through a housing having alternating rotors and orifice plates. The housing includes a first end having a feed chute for introducing the material into the housing, a second end having an opening for removing the smaller particles, and internal sides meeting in corners, which extend longitudinally between the first and second ends. A rotatable shaft extends substantially along a longitudinal central axis of the housing. Rotors each include a hub coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith, a substantially polygonal-shaped rotor plate centrally fixed to the hub and having apices, and a plurality of vanes each vanes extending approximately radially inward on a side of the rotor plate from an apex. Each orifice plate extends inwardly from the internal sides of the housing to a central aperture which provides an orifice around the shaft.