Abstract: The present invention relates generally to logical telephone numbers. In particular, dynamic number users are able to obtain dynamic numbers and to map those numbers to routable numbers of their choosing. The present invention provides a tool for protecting privacy while sharing and/or publicizing a number for public purposes. The present invention relates to a Dynamic Telephone Number Service (DTNS.) wherein users are provided with a logical temporary telephone number that is mapped dynamically to a physically addressable number. The use of the DTNS allows a dynamic number user to publish the logical number, thus avoiding the need to publish private information and phone numbers for public purposes. Further, the logical number is not permanently assigned, but rather is temporary and provided to the dynamic number user for a relatively short period of time.

Abstract: A method and system is provided for on-line transactions involving micro-payments. The method includes, paying a merchant for any goods and/or services purchased by a user, wherein a micro-payment system pays the merchant; and billing the user for the goods purchased, wherein a payment provider bills the user for the goods and services. The micro-payment system authorizes a user for transacting business with an authorized merchant and pays the merchant. The payment provider in the foregoing aspects of the present invention may be a telephone company, a cable company, Internet service provider, utilities company, Gas Company and/or any other entity that regularly bills the user for service(s).

Abstract: An improved method for preparing monolith adsorbents and activating the adsorbents therein is disclosed. A mixture of lower temperature and higher temperature binders is used in fabricating the paper used to form the monolith structure. The finished monolith structure is heated to a temperature sufficient to remove the lower temperature binder while leaving the higher temperature binder to maintain integrity in the monolith.

Abstract: The invention is addressing the problem of efficient formation and maintenance of piconets with assistance from the master of an already existing piconet. The master of an existing piconet initiates the formation of a new helper piconet by at least two of its slaves. One of the slaves of the existing piconet becomes the master of the newly formed helper piconet and the other slave becomes a slave of the helper piconet. This process can be used to expand the number of Bluetooth devices that can use an Internet access point. It can also be used to permit two slave devices to communicate directly with one another so as not to unnecessarily use bandwidth available through the master. Finally, the method and system could be used to provide a method of efficient hand-off from one piconet to another.

Abstract: An improved method for preparing monolith adsorbents and activating the adsorbents therein is disclosed. A mixture of lower temperature and higher temperature binders is used in fabricating the paper used to form the monolith structure. The finished monolith structure is heated to a temperature sufficient to remove the lower temperature binder while leaving the higher temperature binder to maintain integrity in the monolith.

Abstract: A method of separating a first gaseous component from a gas mixture comprising a first gaseous component and a second gaseous component comprising passing the gaseous mixture into an adsorption zone containing an adsorbent material capable of preferentially adsorbing at least one of the gaseous components in the gaseous mixture, to separate the first gaseous component from the second gaseous component wherein the adsorbent material is a monolithic wheel having a plurality of channels throughout, the channels being aligned parallel to the direction of flow of the gaseous mixture and having a wall thickness of less than 1 mm and recovering the non-preferentially adsorbed gaseous component from the adsorption zone. Preferably, the adsorption zone comprises multiple layers of monolithic structures in the shape of a wheel stacked one upon the other in a direction parallel to the direction of the flow of the gaseous mixture and formed by spirally winding a sheet of corrugated adsorbable material about a hub.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for removing nitrogen oxides from gas streams such as furnace or utility boiler flue gas streams. An adsorber system is used to adsorb nitrogen oxides from the flue gas streams. An oxygen/ozone gas stream contacts the nitrogen oxides to convert the nitrogen oxides to N2O5 which will exit the adsorber with the oxygen stream.

Abstract: An improved method for preparing and activating monolith adsorbents is disclosed. A regeneration gas is passed through the formed monolith adsorbent at a temperature sufficient to decompose at least part of the binding agents in the adsorbent. The present invention also provides for the use of the treated adsorbent monoliths in separating gases in cyclical separation processes such as vacuum swing adsorption processes.

Abstract: Partial oxidation of hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide is carried out by a cyclical process which includes passing air through a perovskite ceramic substance at elevated temperature, thereby adsorbing oxygen from the air, and subsequently contacting the hot oxygen-containing ceramic substance with a hydrocarbon. During the partial oxidation reaction phase of the process, the sorbed oxygen reacts with the hydrocarbon, thereby producing the desired gas products and regenerating the adsorbent for the next cycle of the process.

Abstract: Partial oxidation of hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide is carried out by a cyclical process, which includes (a) contacting an oxygen ion conducting ceramic with air at a pressure between about 1 and 50 bara in a reactor, wherein oxygen from the air reacts with the ceramic, thereby producing an oxygen-enriched ceramic, and (b) contacting the hot, oxygen-enriched ceramic with hydrocarbon gas and optionally steam in the reactor. During the partial oxidation reaction phase of the process, the oxygen-enriched ceramic reacts with the hydrocarbon, thereby producing the desired gas products and regenerating the oxygen ion conducting ceramic for the next cycle of the process.

Abstract: A method of separating a first gaseous component from a gas mixture comprising the first gaseous component and a second gaseous component comprising passing the gaseous mixture into an adsorption zone containing an adsorbent material capable of preferentially adsorbing at least one of the gaseous components in the gaseous mixture, to separate the first gaseous component from the second gaseous component wherein the adsorbent material is a monolithic having a plurality of channels throughout, said channels being aligned parallel to the direction of flow of the gaseous mixture and having a wall thickness of less than 1 mm and (b) recovering the non-preferentially adsorbed gaseous component from the adsorption zone. Preferably, the adsorption zone comprises multiple layers of monolithic structures in the shape of a wheel stacked one upon the other in a direction parallel to the direction of the flow of the gaseous mixture and form by spirally winding a sheet of corrugated adsorbable material about a hub.

Abstract: A service architecture for the rapid development of next generation telephony services that overcomes the limitations of the current closed PSTN architecture and service model. In this architecture services are provided by multiple cooperating distributed service providers. This architecture is built upon an object-oriented call model which is defined as a small set of extensions to the standard Java Telephony API call model. This new object-oriented call model hides the detail of the underlying call-state management protocols and hardware from applications.

Abstract: The present invention, referred to herein as Personal Billing Selection, enables a telecommunications service subscriber to designate billing options for outgoing and incoming calls on a per-call basis, even if the subscriber's account includes several numbers and/or addresses. The present invention also preferably allows users to designate default billing accounts on a per-number basis. The subscriber may have a plurality of service accounts established in a database such as service profile. Calls for personal use and calls for other uses (e.g., business calls, separate client accounts, etc.) may be distinguished on a per-call basis by the call originator for outgoing calls or by the call recipient for incoming calls if the recipient is billed for incoming calls. For both outgoing and incoming calls, network usage is automatically allocated to the appropriate service account.

Abstract: A method of separating a first gaseous component from a gas mixture comprising the first gaseous component and a second gaseous component comprising passing the gaseous mixture into an adsorption zone containing an adsorbent material capable of preferentially adsorbing at least one of the gaseous components in the gaseous mixture, to separate the first gaseous component from the second gaseous component wherein the adsorbent material is a monolith having a plurality of channels throughout, the channels being aligned parallel to the direction of flow of the gaseous mixture and having a wall thickness of less than 1 mm and (b) recovering the non-preferentially adsorbed gaseous component from the adsorption zone. Preferably, the adsorption zone comprises multiple layers of monolithic structures in the shape of a wheel stacked one upon the other in a direction parallel to the direction of the flow of the gaseous mixture and form by spirally winding a sheet of corrugated adsorbable material about a hub.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for removing nitrogen oxides from gas streams such as furnace or utility boiler flue gas streams. An ozone adsorption system is used to adsorb and concentrate ozone. A slip stream containing nitrogen oxides is introduced into an ozone adsorption system to desorb ozone and the ozone-containing slip stream gas is then directed to a reactor duct along with the primary nitrogen oxide-containing gas stream where the nitrogen oxides are converted to N.sub.2 O.sub.5.

Abstract: An argon gas stream containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, water vapor, oxygen carbon dioxide, nitrogen and methane is purified by drying the gas stream with a desiccant, oxidizing the hydrogen and carbon dioxide to water vapor and carbon dioxide by contact with oxidizing catalysts in the presence of excess oxygen, removing the water vapor and carbon dioxide from the gas stream by adsorption, removing excess oxygen by chemisorption at elevated temperature and removing the nitrogen and methane by adsorption at cryogenic temperature. Alternatively, excess oxygen is removed from the gas stream by adsorption at a cryogenic temperature.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing a clean dry air product stream. In accordance with the method and apparatus, a compressed feed air stream is introduced into one adsorption bed to adsorb moisture and carbon dioxide and to produce a first intermediate product stream. Impurities contained within the first intermediate product stream such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and hydrogen are catalytically reacted to produce a second intermediate product stream that contains additional carbon dioxide and moisture produced from the catalytic reaction. The second intermediate product stream is introduced into another adsorption bed that adsorbs the additional moisture and carbon dioxide formed by the catalytic reaction to produce the clean dry air product stream. The present invention can be used alone to serve the need of supplying a clean dry air product stream. Additionally, it can be used as a prepurification unit of an air separation plant designed to produce an ultra-high purity industrial gas product.

Abstract: A method of processing semiconductor manufacturing exhaust gases for recovering at least hexafluoroethane in which a feed stream composed of the exhaust gases is passed through an adsorbent bed selected to adsorb oxygen, and also nitrogen if present, but not to appreciably adsorb the hexafluoroethane. As a result, a product stream, discharged from the adsorbent bed, has a higher concentration of hexafluoroethane than in the feed stream. In one embodiment, only a single adsorbent such as carbon molecular sieve is provided to adsorb the oxygen or a modified 4A zeolite could be used to adsorb both oxygen and nitrogen. When nitrogen is a potential constituent, layers of carbon molecular sieve and zeolite are provided to adsorb the oxygen and then the nitrogen, respectively. A third adsorbent, preferably 5A zeolite may be provided in addition to the foregoing two adsorbents to also adsorb any carbon tetrafluoride produced as a by-product.

Abstract: An activated alumina adsorbent used in a PSA air prepurification process for removal of carbon dioxide from the air is thermally regenerated when the carbon dioxide content remaining in the adsorbent following an adsorbent regeneration step of the PSA process reaches a certain level.

Abstract: An air prepurification process which includes, as a first step, a pressure swing adsorption process in which the air is passed through a bed of adsorbent which contains activated alumina, thereby effecting removal of substantially all moisture and most carbon dioxide from the feed air and as a second step, a temperature swing adsorption process in which the dried feed air is passed through a bed of carbon dioxide-selective adsorbent, thereby removing substantially all of the carbon dioxide remaining in the feed air. The feed air may be passed through beds of hydrogen oxidation and carbon monoxide oxidation catalysts between the first and second steps to convert any hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the feed air to water vapor and carbon dioxide, respectively, these components being removed from the feed air during the second step.