Abstract: A single sheet of non-woven material is provided with sufficient strength and durability to store two compact discs without the necessity of laminating or otherwise interconnecting the non-woven sheet to a backing sheet or other materials for strength. The single sheet of non-woven material is positioned between the playing surfaces of the two compact discs to provide a non-scratching, protective surface and to reduce the costs associated with manufacturing the sleeves used to store the CDS.

Abstract: A positioning system includes a plurality of devices configured to exchange RF signals with one another. A first device periodically receives a message from each other device during time slots assigned them. The received message includes information representing a time of arrival at the other device of a respective message transmitted by the first device. A time of arrival of the message from each of the other devices is determined by the first device. The first device periodically transmits messages to the other devices, each transmitted message including information representing the determined time of arrival for at least one of the other devices. A range from the first device to each of a plurality of the other devices is determined as function of the determined time of arrival of the message from the other device and the time of arrival information in the message from the other device.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention is a fill-up operation provided by automated content-delivery systems to facilitate accurate, fast, and efficient downloading of content to portable, electronic, content-rendering devices. The fill-up operation allows a user of a portable, electronic, content-rendering device to depress or tough a single button to invoke content download from a connected automated content-delivery system. Content may be deleted from the portable, electronic, content-rendering device to facilitate download of new content from the portable, electronic, content-rendering device, the deletion occurring according to preferences previously specified by the user and/or criteria inferred by the portable, electronic, content-rendering device. Content may be selected for download to the portable, electronic, content-rendering device according preferences previously specified by the user as well as criteria inferred by, and maintained by, the automated content-delivery system.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a distributed user-profile data structure that describes a portable-electronic-content-rendering-device user, the user's various electronic devices, the user's downloaded content, and other information that is exchanged, in initial steps of various information-exchange and transaction protocols. The distributed user-profile data structures that represent embodiments of the present invention may include a header, general user information, device information, credit card information, account information, virtual-store information, and information about one or more different types of downloadable content. Various fundamental unary and binary operations are defined on distributed user-profile data structures.

Abstract: One system embodiment of the present invention is a kiosk for retailing and distributing digitally-encoded content that features a card reader, such as a magnetic-stripe-card swipe reader or a smart-card reader, that allows a user to quickly and easily log into the kiosk using a credit card, retailer-provided identification card, or other card containing electronically readable information that identifies the user to the kiosk. Method embodiments of the present invention include methods for quickly and easily identifying a user and interconnecting with a user's portable device in order to prepare to provide any of a variety of personalized content-delivery services to the customer.

Abstract: A centrally tracked artificial currency is provided within the context of an enterprise. This currency serves as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value in a corporate “attention economy.” Users (typically coworkers) in the enterprise are allotted a base number of currency units, which they can earn, exchange, and spend in a variety of ways to signal importance and “purchase” attention of others, or priority for other organization resources. In one aspect, senders of messages can specify an amount of currency to be associated with the message, so that recipients can see the specified amount before deciding whether to read the message. Once such a system is in use, it facilitates exchange of value based on user-created transactions regarding behavior, communication, resources, incentives, and priorities.

Abstract: Many different embodiments of the present invention are directed to customizing and optimizing entertainment-content and information-content broadcast within retail establishments. In many embodiment of the present invention, an automated system employs a wide variety of different types of processed and compiled input information to compile and filter available content for broadcast, assign weights to the filtered, available content, and to continuously select content from the filtered and weighted. In a described embodiment, the automated system selects content for broadcast to optimally, or near-optimally, satisfy one or more goals established for the broadcast of entertainment content and information content within a retail establishment within a set of constraints.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention provide selected content rendering, by a kiosk-based content-retailing system, or other content-retailing or content-distribution system, while selected content is being downloaded to a user device, written to a content-storage medium, or otherwise distributed to a target distribution medium. By concurrently rendering content and distributing content, the kiosk-based, content-retailing system, or other content-distribution system, provides a desirable distraction and entertainment to a retail customer who may otherwise need to wait idly at the kiosk for completion of the content distribution.

Abstract: A peeler apparatus is provided having an ergonomic handle and a blade that can be rotated relative to the handle to accommodate different peeling styles. The blade can be rotated in order to position the blade in a variety of positions relative to the handle. Such positions include perpendicular, parallel left, parallel right, 45 degree left, and 45 degree right positions. Variations of the peeler can be provided which enable rotations of 180 degrees, 360 degrees, and/or other angles as desired. A user-operable knob cooperatively engaged with a yoke permits the yoke and a blade secured to the yoke to rotate relative to the handle in response to rotation of the knob. A peeler having a blade fixed at approximately 45 degrees relative to the handle is also provided.

Abstract: An enveloper (10) for creating a material envelope around a battery plate, including an anvil (29) and a rotatable cut-and-crease roller (28) having a knife (35) and a generally diametrically opposed crease blade (36) for acting against the anvil (29) to cut-and-crease material fed through the enveloper (10) wherein the enveloper (10) further includes a control (57) for varying the rotational velocity of the roller (28) during a rotational cycle to position the crease to form a symmetrical envelope around a plate passing through the enveloper (10).

Abstract: A centrally tracked artificial currency is provided within the context of an enterprise. This currency serves as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value in a corporate “attention economy.” Users (typically coworkers) in the enterprise are allotted a base number of currency units, which they can earn, exchange, and spend in a variety of ways to signal importance and “purchase” attention of others, or priority for other organization resources. In one aspect, senders of messages can specify an amount of currency to be associated with the message, so that recipients can see the specified amount before deciding whether to read the message. Once such a system is in use, it facilitates exchange of value based on user-created transactions regarding behavior, communication, resources, incentives, and priorities.

Abstract: The present invention is a storage device for securing a plurality of electronic media. The invention also includes a selectively interconnectable auxiliary storage device that is also adapted to secure electronic media, wherein a user is able to remove often used media such that the generally larger storage device does not require transportation. One embodiment of the present invention includes an auxiliary storage device that is adapted for selective interconnection to a visor of a vehicle thus providing a location for media storage to be more safely accessed by a driver of the vehicle.

Abstract: An execution engine is disclosed for executing business processes. An executable object model is generated for a business process document. Executable object models of business processes are assigned to virtual processors.

Abstract: During debugging of target system by a host system, s single stack is used for an exception by a set of applications running on the processor of the target. To achieve this, the stack is dynamically loaded by the host to a reserved memory region, and a vector of the target is set to point to that reserved memory region. The exception handlers of each application then use the vector to access the stack.

Abstract: The invention comprises the design, synthesis, and characterization of mesostructured silica/block copolymer composite monoliths as controlled release systems. The controlled release function is based on the formation of mesostructured silica/block copolymer architectures via surfactant-templated sol-gel processing. Multi-layered or gradient monoliths are produced by layer-by-layer sol-gel processing to provide pulsed and programmed release characteristics. A simple, rapid route to prepare combinatorial compositional monolith libraries provides high-throughput synthesis and rapid screening of the release characteristics of the monoliths.

Abstract: A component of a system receives a first instruction at a server to execute a target program that is unsupported by a server application. The server application is located on the server. A component of the system employs a second instruction in the supported program to cause execution of the target program. The second instruction is based on the first instruction. The supported program is supported by the server application.

Abstract: A stimulating coil for use in the magnetic stimulation of neuro-muscular tissue comprises a self-supporting but flexible conductor in a flexible insulating sheath which can be adjusted by hand to conform the coil to the contours of a selected part of the human body. The coil is provided with a cooling system which includes a conduit disposed adjacent or within the coil and a pump for driving coolant through the conduit.

Abstract: A Java based server is disclosed for providing streaming data. Streaming data is received in a publisher interface and processed to generate Java messages describing real time updated. One application of the Java based server is to provide streaming data for business process.

Abstract: A single sheet of non-woven material is provided with sufficient strength and durability to store two compact discs without the necessity of laminating or otherwise interconnecting the non-woven sheet to a backing sheet or other materials for strength. The single sheet of non-woven material is positioned between the playing surfaces of the two compact discs to provide a non-scratching, protective surface and to reduce the costs associated with manufacturing the sleeves used to store the CDS.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, method, and computer readable medium is disclosed for integrating disparate data and application sources using a web services orchestration platform, with business process execution language (BPEL).