Abstract: Laundry transfer apparatus, and a method of transferring laundry items. The laundry apparatus comprises a rotatable disk carousel for receiving laundry items on a laundry receiving surface thereof, and a suction nozzle located relative to said laundry receiving surface for drawing laundry items from said laundry receiving surface into a laundry delivery conduit. The suction nozzle is vertically movable relative to the laundry receiving surface of the rotatable disk carousel and is rotatable about a vertical axis. The method of transferring laundry items, comprises the steps of: delivering laundry items onto the laundry receiving surface of a rotating disk carousel, and suctioning laundry items from the laundry receiving surface of the rotating disk carousel into a laundry delivery conduit. The transferred laundry items may be wet or dry laundry items.

Abstract: The invention relates to an intelligent hospital bed comprising a lower main frame (1) and an upper frame (2) articulated to said lower main frame provided with movable parts, in which there is arranged a mattress (22) provided with several foldable sections, including a plurality of sensors arranged along the mattress (22) capable of measuring the initial force on the point at which the corresponding sensor is arranged, which sensors are interconnected to one another and associated with a control unit which controls servo-motors used for moving the movable parts of the upper frame (2) such that when a sensor detects a movement of the user in real time, a servo-motor which is associated with a corresponding sensor or a combination of sensors (S) moving at least one of the movable parts of the upper frame (2) is actuated.

Abstract: A loading device is attachable to the front of a front-loading laundry machine comprising a drum, a drum port and a drum port door for selectively closing the drum port. The loading device comprises a deformable chute mounted on a collapsible frame, and a pair of brackets for mounting the collapsible frame to the laundry machine such that the loading device is configurable between: a use condition in which he collapsible frame is open and the deformable chute is taut for directing laundry through the drum port into the laundry machine, and a storage condition in which the collapsible frame is closed for allowing the drum port door of the laundry machine to be closed. A front-loading laundry machine provided with the loading device located adjacent the drum port. The front-loading laundry machine may be a washing machine or a tumble dryer.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a Time-Lapse Cryptography Service is provided based on a network of parties. Senders encrypt their messages with this public key whose secret key is not known to anyone—not even a trusted third party—until a predefined and specific future time T+.delta., at which point the secret key is constructed and published. In one example, the secret key can only be known after it is constructed. At or after that time, anyone can decrypt the cipher text using this secret key. In one embodiment, a method for cryptographic encoding is provided, including generation of cryptographic key components by a plurality of parties, where participation of the parties is verified. A public key is constructed from a plurality of key components.

Abstract: The invention relates to an intelligent hospital bed comprising a lower main frame (1) and an upper frame (2) articulated to said lower main frame provided with movable parts, in which there is arranged a mattress (22) provided with several foldable sections, including a plurality of sensors arranged along the mattress (22) capable of measuring the initial force on the point at which the corresponding sensor is arranged, which sensors are interconnected to one another and associated with a control unit which controls servo-motors used for moving the movable parts of the upper frame (2) such that when a sensor detects a movement of the user in real time, a servo-motor which is associated with a corresponding sensor or a combination of sensors (S) moving at least one of the movable parts of the upper frame (2) is actuated.

Abstract: A front loading washing machine having a front loading door 14 for the washing drum is provided with a loading device 21 for attachment to the front 15 of a front loading washing machine adjacent the door 14, the loading device 21 comprising a readily deformable textile chute 22 mounted on a collapsible frame 23, the frame being attached to the machine by brackets 24,25 secured on the front 15 of the washing machine both sides of said door 14 and the frame 23 being opened to a raised open condition to form a taut chute 22 for directing laundry into a drum and being collapsed to permit closure of the door 14.

Abstract: An applicator system for providing a massaging and a cooling effect while applying product to a body includes an applicator tip connected to a vibrating mechanism that is disposed proximate to the applicator storage tip. By virtue of having the vibrating mechanism disposed proximate to the applicator tip, the vibration produced by the vibrating mechanism is transferred primarily to the applicator tip.

Abstract: Provided are systems and methods for simplifying cloud compute markets. A compute marketplace can be configured to determine, automatically, attributes and/or constraints associated with a job without requiring the consumer to provide them. The compute marketplace provides a clearing house for excess compute resources which can be offered privately or publically. The compute environment can be further configured to optimize job completion across multiple providers with different execution formats, and can also factor operating expense of the compute environment into the optimization. The compute marketplace can also be configured to monitor jobs and/or individual job partitions while their execution is in progress.

Abstract: A system and method for conducting verifiably correct auctions that preserves the secrecy of the bids while providing for verifiable correctness and trustworthiness of the auction is disclosed. Some of the elements of the method and apparatus are that the auction operator accepts all bids submitted and follows the published rules of the auction. In one embodiment, the bids are maintained secret from the auctioneer and all bidders until the auction closes and no bidder is able to change or repudiate her bid. In another embodiment, the auction operator computes the auction results and publishes proofs of the results' correctness. In yet another embodiment, any party can check these proofs of correctness via publicly verifiable to computations on encrypted bids.

Abstract: A system and method for conducting verifiably correct auctions that preserves the secrecy of the bids while providing for verifiable correctness and trustworthiness of the auction is disclosed. Some of the elements of the method and apparatus are that the auction operator accepts all bids submitted and follows the published rules of the auction. In one embodiment, the bids are maintained secret from the auctioneer and all bidders until the auction closes and no bidder is able to change or repudiate her bid. In another embodiment, the auction operator computes the auction results and publishes proofs of the results' correctness. In yet another embodiment, any party can check these proofs of correctness via publicly verifiable computations on encrypted bids.

Abstract: An applicator system for providing a messaging and a cooling effect while applying product to a body includes an applicator tip connected to a vibrating mechanism that is disposed proximate to the applicator storage tip. By virtue of having the vibrating mechanism disposed proximate to the applicator tip, the vibration produced by the vibrating mechanism is transferred primarily to the applicator tip.

Abstract: Goggles are provided having a lens cup with a seal portion extending around its peripheral rear edge. The seal portion is adapted to seal against the face of a wearer of the goggles via a face contact surface. The face contact surface is preformed to follow substantially the contours of the wearer's face around the wearer's eye socket, so that little force between the seal portion and the wearer's face is required to achieve sealing. The face contact surface may be preformed in accordance with the average wearer from a demographic group or preformed bespoke for the wearer.

Abstract: According to one aspect, provided is a construction and specification for an implementation of a new cryptographic primitive, “Time-Lapse Cryptography”, with which a sender can encrypt a message so that it is guaranteed to be revealed at an exact moment in the future, even if this revelation turns out to be undesirable to the sender. In one embodiment, a Time-Lapse Cryptography Service is provided (“the Service”) based on a network of parties. Senders encrypt their messages with this public key whose secret key is not known to anyone—not even a trusted third party—until a predefined and specific future time T+?, at which point the secret key is constructed and published. In one example, the secret key can only be known after it is constructed. At or after that time, anyone can decrypt the cipher text using this secret key.

Abstract: Presented are methods and systems for highly efficient proofs of correctness of computations that preserve secrecy of the input values and calculations. One embodiment includes a method for verifiably determining at least one output for a secrecy preserving computations where the method includes acts of calculating an output from submitted inputs according to an announced calculation, translating a value in the calculation into two components that are a randomized representation of that value, publishing commitments to the at least two components, revealing a portion of the randomized representation in response to a verification request, and enabling verification of the calculation of the output using the revealed portion of the randomized representation. According to one aspect of the secrecy preserving verification the numbers involved in the secrecy preserving calculation are represented by a randomly constructed representing pair.

Abstract: A system and method for conducting verifiably correct auctions that preserves the secrecy of the bids while providing for verifiable correctness and trustworthiness of the auction is disclosed. Some of the elements of the method and apparatus are that the auction operator accepts all bids submitted and follows the published rules of the auction. In one embodiment, the bids are maintained secret from the auctioneer and all bidders until the auction closes and no bidder is able to change or repudiate her bid. In another embodiment, the auction operator computes the auction results and publishes proofs of the results' correctness. In yet another embodiment, any party can check these proofs of correctness via publicly verifiable computations on encrypted bids.

Abstract: According to one aspect, presented is a useful new mechanism that facilitates the atomic exchange of large baskets of securities in a combinatorial exchange. Some embodiments of the exchange offer institutions who wish to trade large positions a new alternative to existing methods of trading. In one embodiment of an exchange, institutions submit encrypted orders which are crossed (buys, sells, shorts, and longs, for example, are matched) leaving a “remainder”. The exchange proves facts about the portfolio risk of this remainder to third party liquidity providers without revealing the securities in the remainder. The third parties learn either (depending on the setting) the portfolio risk parameters of the remainder itself, or how their own portfolio risk would change if they were to incorporate the remainder into a portfolio they submit. They submit bids on the commission, and the winner supplies necessary liquidity for the entire exchange to clear.

Abstract: A laundry vacuum transfer system comprising a stock box (12 or 13), having an inlet (22) connectable to a passageway and an outlet (23) connectable to a vacuum means (24) for developing sub-atmospheric pressure within the box and along the passageway for drawing textile articles into the box via said inlet, the box having an upper door (27) dividing the box into upper and lower compartments (31,32) and a lower door (28) for controlling discharge of textile articles onto a compartmentalized transfer belt (15) located beneath the lower door (28)), and an accumulation bin (16 or 17) which receives laundry from the transfer belt (15), which is indexed to transport the laundry to the bin (16 or 17), the stock box having both compartments separately connected to the outlet via valve means (29).

Abstract: An overhead rail system cleaning device 20 has a body 21 with rollers 23 mounted thereon for suspension of and movement along the rail 11, cleaning brushes 41 mounted on the body 21 for cleaning the rail 11, and preferably suction device 61 also mounted on the body 21 and having at least one air intake port 62 adjacent the cleaning brushes 41 for collection of dirt and dust particles removed from the rail. The cleaning device 21 can moved in use along the rail 11 by a drive wheel 51 mounted on the body 21 and resiliently biased against the rail.

Abstract: Goggles are provided having a lens cup with a seal portion extending around its peripheral rear edge. The seal portion is adapted to seal against the face of a wearer of the goggles via a face contact surface. The face contact surface is preformed to follow substantially the contours of the wearer's face around the wearer's eye socket, so that little force between the seal portion and the wearer's face is required to achieve sealing. The face contact surface may be preformed in accordance with the average wearer from a demographic group or preformed bespoke for the wearer.