Abstract: A container holds an absorbent pad which contains fluids for cleansing toilet facilities before using them, or for cleansing or moisturizing a person's body after using a toilet. One carries one or more such containers on one's person. To use the container one opens it and expresses fluid from the pad onto dry clean toilet paper by pressing that toilet paper onto the pad. One then uses the now moist toilet paper to clean a toilet seat, or to clean or moisturize one's person or the person of another. Then one disposes of the now used toilet paper as one normally disposes of toilet paper.

Abstract: A container holds an absorbent pad which contains fluids for cleansing toilet facilities before using them, or for cleansing or moisturizing a person's body after using a toilet. One carries one or more such containers on one's person. To use the container one opens it and expresses fluid from the pad onto dry clean toilet paper by pressing that toilet paper onto the pad. One then uses the now moist toilet paper to clean a toilet seat, or to clean or moisturize one's person or the person of another. Then one disposes of the now used toilet paper as one normally disposes of toilet paper.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a vehicle structure, a bumper, an elongate structural member, and an extension portion. The elongate structural member is able to crush longitudinally in response to application of force in a longitudinal direction. The extension portion is able to crush longitudinally in response to application of force in the longitudinal direction, is connected to the elongate structural member such that the elongate structural member and the extension portion support the bumper with respect to the vehicle structure, and is operable to move the bumper between an extended position and a retracted position with respect to the vehicle structure to change a distance between the bumper and the vehicle structure.

Abstract: Methods and systems in a contact center for estimating staff levels expected to meet service quality goals are described. In one embodiment, a required staff simulator controller utilizes an event-based simulator to execute staff calculations. The required staff controller reconfigures the simulator for different staff levels and repeatedly runs the simulator to test if the configured staff level is likely or not likely to meet configured service goals using selected confidence levels. The required staff controller determines and presents for each agent type a least upper bound and a greatest lower bound for required staff.

Abstract: An orthogonal coupling mechanism includes a threaded rod, a pair of travelers engaging the threaded rod, and an actuator. The actuator is disposed on the threaded rod, such that the actuator translates a first axial force along the axis of the threaded rod into a rotational movement of the threaded rod about its axis. The rotational movement created by the actuator causes the pair of travelers to travel along the axis of the threaded rod, moving a sliding board into engagement with a first connector in a direction orthogonal to a direction of the first axial force.

Abstract: A dehumidification dryer configured and operated so at to achieve higher drying temperatures than traditionally obtainable with dehumidification driers. The invention takes advantage of refrigerants not previously used in the field of dehumidification drying to achieve temperatures in the range of 240 degrees Fahrenheit-260 degrees Fahrenheit that previously were found only in open hot air kilns. In order to make optimum use of high temperature refrigerants, the invention uses variable control rates for drying the air that is used as the drying medium, and restructures the deployment of the components of the refrigeration circuit that participates in the heat and humidity exchange central to the operation of the drier.

Abstract: A container holds an absorbent pad which contains fluids for cleansing toilet facilities before using them, or for cleansing or moisturizing a person's body after using a toilet. One carries one or more such containers on one's person. To use the container one opens it and expresses fluid from the pad onto dry clean toilet paper by pressing that toilet paper onto the pad. One then uses the now moist toilet paper to clean a toilet seat, or to clean or moisturize one's person or the person of another. Then one disposes of the now used toilet paper as one normally disposes of toilet paper.

Abstract: A connector adaptor facilitates coupling of a mating card edge with a corresponding female card-edge connector disposed on a circuit board. A gathering bevel at the face of the connector adaptor guides the mating card edge from the face of the connector adaptor to the slot at the connection surface of the female card-edge connector, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the female card-edge connector or the mating card edge during a blind mating attempt. In some embodiments the connector adaptor includes at least one connector tab such that the adaptor can be securely inserted into a cage preceding the slot opening of the female card-edge connector. In another embodiment the connector adaptor overlies the female card-edge connector to protect at least the connection surface of the female card-edge connector and can be fastened to the circuit board with any variety of fastening components.

Abstract: An orthogonal coupling mechanism includes a threaded rod, a pair of travelers engaging the threaded rod, and an actuator. The actuator is disposed on the threaded rod, such that the actuator translates a first axial force along the axis of the threaded rod into a rotational movement of the threaded rod about its axis. The rotational movement created by the actuator causes the pair of travelers to travel along the axis of the threaded rod, moving a sliding board into engagement with a first connector in a direction orthogonal to a direction of the first axial force.

Abstract: A connector adaptor facilitates coupling of a mating card edge with a corresponding female card-edge connector disposed on a circuit board. A gathering bevel at the face of the connector adaptor guides the mating card edge from the face of the connector adaptor to the slot at the connection surface of the female card-edge connector, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the female card-edge connector or the mating card edge during a blind mating attempt. In some embodiments the connector adaptor includes at least one connector tab such that the adaptor can be securely inserted into a cage preceding the slot opening of the female card-edge connector. In another embodiment the connector adaptor overlies the female card-edge connector to protect at least the connection surface of the female card-edge connector and can be fastened to the circuit board with any variety of fastening components.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for scheduling calls. The method includes the steps of providing a calling period with a plurality of sub-periods and determining a set of historical call completion ratios associated with the plurality of sub-periods. The method further includes the steps of exponentially scaling the respective determined call completion ratios and placing a number of calls during each sub-period of the calling period where the number of calls placed during each sub-period is based upon the respective exponentially scaled call completion ratio.

Abstract: An improved air-source heat pump for residential and commercial use, employing two closed refrigerant systems having different refrigerants in cascade relationship to each other to address efficiency and space concerns, with the first closed refrigerant system partitionable into a first sub-system and a second sub-system, with the first sub-system working in conjunction with the second closed refrigerant system in heating mode and the second sub-system working independently in cooling mode.

Abstract: A standoff joins a circuit board to a chassis member using a rivet. The standoff has a cap surface with a hole that allows the body of an unexpanded blind rivet to pass into an inner cavity of the standoff. The rivet is then expanded against the underside of the cap. In use, the standoff rests against the underside of a circuit board, and the rivet passes through a hole in the circuit board and into the standoff. The rivet head engages the circuit board to hold the circuit board against the standoff.

Abstract: Method and system of estimating a number of agents to service contacts arriving on multiple chat channels in an automatic contact distribution system. In some embodiments, estimated average times that agents and contacts spend, respectively, composing a single chat message and an estimated average time of a chat session are used to derive an inflated handle time for any selected number of chat channels, an effective number of agents is computed for the inflated handle time, and that effective number of agents is divided by the selected number of channels.

Abstract: A standoff joins a circuit board to a chassis member using a rivet. The standoff has a cap surface with a hole that allows the body of an unexpanded blind rivet to pass into an inner cavity of the standoff. The rivet is then expanded against the underside of the cap. In use, the standoff rests against the underside of a circuit board, and the rivet passes through a hole in the circuit board and into the standoff. The rivet head engages the circuit board to hold the circuit board against the standoff.

Abstract: A method and system to receive transaction data; determine a gap in the transaction data; and use an algorithm to generate data to fill in the gap is described. The algorithm is selected from a group including a first algorithm and a second algorithm. The first algorithm is to determine a dominant pattern in the transaction data; identify a region within the dominant pattern that corresponds to the gap in the transaction data; and adopt data associated with the corresponding region into the gap to minimize impact on the dominant pattern. The second algorithm includes a Moore-Penrose pseudo-inverse algorithm to choose the transaction data to fill in the gap based on a set of substitute data from among a group of substitute data sets and adopts the set of substitute data into the gap.

Abstract: A method and system for scheduling a callback time for customer service. The system calculates estimated handling resources for a customer interaction system (14) and forecasts a customer service transaction workload for the estimated handling resources of the customer interaction system (14). The system then determines the scheduled callback time based upon the estimated handling resources and the forecasted customer service transaction workload.

Abstract: An improved air-source heat pump for residential and commercial use, employing two closed refrigerant systems having different refrigerants in cascade relationship to each other to address efficiency and space concerns, with the first closed refrigerant system partitionable into a first sub-system and a second sub-system, with the first sub-system working in conjunction with the second closed refrigerant system in heating mode and the second sub-system working independently in cooling mode.

Abstract: Method and system of estimating a number of agents to service contacts arriving on multiple chat channels in an automatic contact distribution system. In some embodiments, estimated average times that agents and contacts spend, respectively, composing a single chat message and an estimated average time of a chat session are used to derive an inflated handle time for any selected number of chat channels, an effective number of agents is computed for the inflated handle time, and that effective number of agents is divided by the selected number of channels.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for scheduling calls. The method includes the steps of providing a calling period with a plurality of sub-periods and determining a set of historical call completion ratios associated with the plurality of sub-periods. The method further includes the steps of exponentially scaling the respective determined call completion ratios and placing a number of calls during each sub-period of the calling period where the number of calls placed during each sub-period is based upon the respective exponentially scaled call completion ratio.