Abstract: The invention relates to a thermoforming device including a forming tool having at least one mold opening and means with which a plastically deformable sheet material can be brought into contact with the inner wall of the mold opening. A first parting tool is connected to a first support element and has at least one first parting edge extending around the rim of the mold opening and a second parting tool, which is connected to a second support element has at least a second parting edge which cooperates with the first parting edge on the first parting tool. At least one of the parting tools is made from a different material than its associated support element. The first parting tool is not supported or fastened rigidly relative to the first support element, and/or the second parting tool is not supported or fastened rigidly relative to the second support element.

Abstract: Apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating handover of communication in a BLUEPAC (Bluetooth public access) or other radio communication system. Address and timing information associated with potential target base stations is collected and broadcast to mobile devices during operation of the radio communication system. The information is utilized by the mobile device during handover procedures to facilitate efficient handover of communications to a selected target base. In a further implementation, a base station is provided with separate, dedicated transmitters in which a first set of dedicated transmitters is dedicated for setup operations with a mobile device during handover operation and another set of dedicated transmitters is dedicated for regular data communications.

Abstract: A cryogenic, high-resolution X-ray detector with high count rate capability has been invented. The new X-ray detector is based on superconducting tunnel junctions (STJs), and operates without thermal stabilization at or below 500 mK. The X-ray detector exhibits good resolution (˜5-20 eV FWHM) for soft X-rays in the keV region, and is capable of counting at count rates of more than 20,000 counts per second (cps). Simple, FET-based charge amplifiers, current amplifiers, or conventional spectroscopy shaping amplifiers can provide the electronic readout of this X-ray detector.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a foamlike mineral building and structural material based on a substantially uniformly foamed alkali-silicate and/or ammonium-silicate matrix encompassing an open and/or closed porous structure. In addition, the present invention relates to a method of producing a foamlike mineral building and structural material comprising the following steps: adjusting the water content of the alkali-silicate and/or ammonium-silicate starting material to a specific value, and foaming the pretreated alkali-silicate and/or ammonium-silicate material, and to an apparatus for carrying out the method which comprises: a conditioner for adjusting the water content of the alkali-silicate and/or ammonium-silicate starting material and a heating means for the foaming step.

Abstract: The present invention relates to lightweight materials which contain lightweight granules, in particular mineral foam granules, and an organic binder, the volume amount of the lightweight granules in the material being at least 50%, and that the components are bound in the material in a structurally dense manner. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the production thereof by the following steps: introducing the lightweight granules into a workpiece mold, optionally heating the grain feed of lightweight granules, introducing the binder into the workpiece mold filled with the lightweight granular bulk material, solidifying the binder, and to a composite material containing a core of the lightweight material according to the invention and a surface surrounding the core completely or in part and consisting of steel, stainless steel, fiber laminates or plastics.

Abstract: An ultra-high-mass time-of-flight mass spectrometer using a cryogenic particle detector as an ion detector with charge discriminating capabilities. Cryogenic detectors have the potential for significantly improving the performance and sensitivity of time-of-flight mass spectrometers, and compared to ion multipliers they exhibit superior sensitivity for high-mass, slow-moving macromolecular ions and can be used as "stop" detectors in time-of-flight applications. In addition, their energy resolving capability can be used to measure the charge state of the ions. Charge discrimination is very valuable in all time-of-flight mass spectrometers. Using a cryogenically-cooled Nb-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -Nb superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction (STJ) detector operating at 1.3 K as an ion detector in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for large biomolecules it was found that the STJ detector has charge discrimination capabilities.

Abstract: A train radio system with a simple network structure that is suitable for a safe radio transmission. The train radio system comprises radio stations (R), which are arranged along a route, and a mobile station (MS) which is mounted in a vehicle moving along the route, and comprises a transceiver (TRX) and a data bank (HLR) that is connected thereto, into which identification codes (IDn, IDn+1) for the radio stations (R) can be entered. A signalling channel (ACH) is provided, through which each radio station (R) transmits its identification code to the mobile station to establish the radio link for checking into the data bank (HLR). In this way the mobile station (MS) forms a single traveling radio cell to provide radio to those radio stations (R) that are located inside this radio cell. The infrastructure, which essentially comprises the radio stations, can be realized simply and requires no costly network structure.

Abstract: A mobile radio system that permits broadband radio transmission in which a mobile station (MS) can be assigned a plurality of subscriber channels (TCH) of different widths. To accomplish this, concentrators (SMX) are connected to the base stations (BS, BS') of the mobile radio system and to the mobile station (MS). These concentrators (SMX) operate in an asynchronous transfer mode to combine a plurality of subscriber channels (TCH) into one transmit channel (DL) by statistical time-division multiplexing and to separate a receive channel (UL) into the plurality of subscriber channels (TCH) by statistical time-division demultiplexing. This provides a broadband wireless link between the mobile station and the base stations which is characterized by a flexible number of subscriber channels that can have different widths.