Abstract: A machine for processing a web of material into bags includes several sections for processing the web of material into bags. An input section is configured to receive a roll of the web of material, a sealing section is configured to form seals in the web of material, and a winder section configured to wind the bags into rolls of bags may be included. A bander section configured to band each roll of bags may be included. A hem forming section configured to form a hem in the web of material may be included. A draw tape unwind station for unwinding draw tape for bags may be included. Related methods are further disclosed.

Abstract: In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a gaming system that enables a common gaming device to engage multiple players in a common or separate gaming session(s) that can be configured as a multi-player tournament.

Abstract: A machine for processing a web of material into bags includes several sections for processing the web of material into bags. An input section is configured to receive a roll of the web of material, a sealing section is configured to form seals in the web of material, and a winder section configured to wind the bags into rolls of bags may be included. A bander section configured to band each roll of bags may be included. A hem forming section configured to form a hem in the web of material may be included. A draw tape unwind station for unwinding draw tape for bags maybe included. Related methods are further disclosed.

Abstract: A machine for processing a web of material into bags includes several sections for processing the web of material into bags. An input section is configured to receive a roll of the web of material, a sealing section is configured to form seals in the web of material, and a winder section configured to wind the bags into rolls of bags may be included. A bander section configured to band each roll of bags may be included. A hem forming section configured to form a hem in the web of material may be included. A draw tape unwind station for unwinding draw tape for bags may be included. Related methods are further disclosed.

Abstract: A machine for processing a web of material into bags includes several sections for processing the web of material into bags. An input section is configured to receive a roll of the web of material, a sealing section is configured to form seals in the web of material, and a winder section configured to wind the bags into rolls of bags may be included. A bander section configured to band each roll of bags may be included. A hem forming section configured to form a hem in the web of material may be included. A draw tape unwind station for unwinding draw tape for bags maybe included. Related methods are further disclosed.

Abstract: A machine for processing a web of material into bags includes several sections for processing the web of material into bags. An input section is configured to receive a roll of the web of material, a sealing section is configured to form seals in the web of material, and a winder section configured to wind the bags into rolls of bags may be included. A bander section configured to band each roll of bags may be included. A hem forming section configured to form a hem in the web of material may be included. A draw tape unwind station for unwinding draw tape for bags may be included. Related methods are further disclosed.

Abstract: A machine and method for making bags is described and includes a web traveling from an input section to a rotary drum, to an output section. The rotary drum includes at least one seal bar, having a first sealing zone, and an adjacent weakening zone. The weakening zone may be a heated perforator, includes a heating wire, or be disposed to create an auxiliary sealed area. The heating wire can have connected thereto, a source of power that is an adjustable voltage or magnitude, and/or pulsed, and/or a feedback loop. The heating wire ay be an NiCr wire and make intermittent contact with the web and be disposed in an insert. The weakening zone may create a line of weakness that is uniform or varies in intensity, is a separating zone, or includes a heat film, a toothed blade, a row of pins, a source of air, or a source of vacuum. The sealing zones ma include temperature zones, cartridge heaters, cooling air, or hated air, or a source of ultrasonic, microwave or radiative energy.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making bags from a film that follows a film path through a bag machine includes an input section located on the film path, a sealing section located on the film path downstream of the input section, an output section located on the film path downstream of the sealing section, and a controller, connected to control the sealing section. The sealing section includes a sealer that includes a heater block and a manifold. There is an air flow path from the heater block to the manifold. Air is heated in the heater block in response to a control signal provided by the controller to the heater block. The heated air is provided through the air path to the manifold. A temperature sensor is disposed in at least one of the air path and the manifold.

Abstract: Apparatus (10) and methods for combining time reversal and elastic nonlinearity of formation materials for qualtitatively probing for over-pressured regions down hole in advance of a well drilling bit, to determine the distance to the over-pressured region, and for accurately measuring pore pressure downhole in a formation, are described. Classical and reciprocal time reversal methods may be utilized to achieve these measurements.

Abstract: A machine and method for making bags is described and includes a web traveling from an input section to a rotary drum, to an output section. The rotary drum includes at least one seal bar, having a first sealing zone, and an adjacent weakening zone. The weakening zone may be a heated perforator, includes a heating wire, or be disposed to create an auxiliary sealed area. The heating wire can have connected thereto, a source of power that is an adjustable voltage or magnitude, and/or pulsed, and/or a feedback loop. The heating wire ay be an NiCr wire and make intermittent contact with the web and be disposed in an insert. The weakening zone may create a line of weakness that is uniform or varies in intensity, is a separating zone, or includes a heat film, a toothed blade, a row of pins, a source of air, or a source of vacuum. The sealing zones ma include temperature zones, cartridge heaters, cooling air, or hated air, or a source of ultrasonic, microwave or radiative energy.

Abstract: Apparatus (10) and methods for measurement of pore pressure in rock formations through a metal borehole casing (32) after a well is cased and cemented, are described. Such measurements may be accomplished by using the Dynamic Acoustic Elasticity (DAE) method for characterizing nonlinear parameters by perturbing a selected rock formation region with a High Amplitude, Low Frequency (HALF) acoustic strain wave, and probing this region using a Low Amplitude, High Frequency (LAHF) acoustic wave (18), (22). Time reversal techniques (36) may be employed for focusing acoustic energy into the formation in the vicinity of the pipe or open hole. The change in wave speed of the probe pulses as the HALF induced strain wave oscillation propagates through the formation, as a function of the induced strain, may be used to determine the nonlinear elastic parameters ?, ?, ?, and A of the pore pressure, from which the pore pressure may be determined in the region of the HALF wave.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making bags from a film that follows a film path through a bag machine includes an input section located on the film path, a sealing section located on the film path downstream of the input section, an output section located on the film path downstream of the sealing section, and a controller, connected to control the sealing section. The sealing section includes a sealer that includes a heater block and a manifold. There is an air flow path from the heater block to the manifold. Air is heated in the heater block in response to a control signal provided by the controller to the heater block. The heated air is provided through the air path to the manifold. A temperature sensor is disposed in at least one of the air path and the manifold.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making bags from a film that follows a film path through a bag machine includes an input section located on the film path, a sealing section located on the film path downstream of the input section, an output section located on the film path downstream of the sealing section, and a controller, connected to control the sealing section. The sealing section includes a sealer that includes a heater block and a manifold. There is an air flow path from the heater block to the manifold. Air is heated in the heater block in response to a control signal provided by the controller to the heater block. The heated air is provided through the air path to the manifold. A temperature sensor is disposed in at least one of the air path and the manifold.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making bags from a film that follows a film path through a bag machine includes an input section located on the film path, a sealing section located on the film path down stream of the input section, an output section located on the film path downstream of the sealing section, and a controller, connected to control the sealing section. The sealing section includes a sealer that includes a heater block and a manifold. There is an air flow path from the heater block to the manifold. Air is heated in the heater block in response to a control signal provided by the controller to the heater block. The heated air is provided through the air path to the manifold. A temperature sensor is disposed in at least one of the air path and the manifold.

Abstract: A ring dam, fitting between a fluid container and a housing for the fluid container, may include an extruded Polyethylene (EPE) foam having an Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA) additive.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making bags from a film that follows a film path through a bag machine includes an input section located on the film path, a sealing section located on the film path down stream of the input section, an output section located on the film path downstream of the sealing section, and a controller, connected to control the sealing section. The sealing section includes a sealer that includes a heater block and a manifold. There is an air flow path from the heater block to the manifold. Air is heated in the heater block in response to a control signal provided by the controller to the heater block. The heated air is provided through the air path to the manifold. A temperature sensor is disposed in at least one of the air path and the manifold.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for measurement of pore pressure in rock formations through an open, or cemented and/or cased, borehole are described. Such measurements are achieved using the Dynamic Acoustic Elasticity (DAE) method for characterizing nonlinear parameters by perturbing a selected rock formation volume with a High Amplitude, Low Frequency (HALF) acoustic strain wave, and probing this volume using a Low Amplitude, High Frequency (LAHF) acoustic wave. Time reversal techniques may be employed for focusing acoustic energy Into the formation in the vicinity of the pipe or open hole.

Abstract: Apparatus (10) and methods for measurement of pore pressure in rock formations through a metal borehole casing (32) after a well is cased and cemented, are described. Such measurements may be accomplished by using the Dynamic Acoustic Elasticity (DAE) method for characterizing nonlinear parameters by perturbing a selected rock formation region with a High Amplitude, Low Frequency (HALF) acoustic strain wave, and probing this region using a Low Amplitude, High Frequency (LAHF) acoustic wave (18), (22). Time reversal techniques (36) may be employed for focusing acoustic energy into the formation in the vicinity of the pipe or open hole. The change in wave speed of the probe pulses as the HALF induced strain wave oscillation propagates through the formation, as a function of the induced strain, may be used to determine the nonlinear elastic parameters ?, ?, ?, and A of the pore pressure, from which the pore pressure may be determined in the region of the HALF wave.

Abstract: Apparatus (10) and methods for combining time reversal and elastic nonlinearity of formation materials for qualtitatively probing for over-pressured regions down hole in advance of a well drilling bit, to determine the distance to the over-pressured region, and for accurately measuring pore pressure downhole in a formation, are described. Classical and reciprocal time reversal methods may be utilized to achieve these measurements.

Abstract: In position-only shading, two geometry pipes exist, a trimmed down version called the Cull Pipe and a full version called the Replay Pipe. Thus, the Cull Pipe executes the position shaders in parallel with the main application, but typically generates the critical results much faster as it fetches and shades only the position attribute of the vertices and avoids the rasterization as well as the rendering of pixels for the frame buffer. Furthermore, the Cull Pipe uses these critical results to compute visibility information for all the triangles whether they are culled or not. On the other hand, the Replay Pipe consumes the visibility information to skip the culled triangles and shades only the visible triangles that are finally passed to the rasterization phase. Together the two pipes can hide the long cull runs of discarded triangles and can complete the work faster in some embodiments.