Abstract: A driver for threaded fasteners has helical blades with engagement surfaces on one side and teeth on an opposite side. The engagement surfaces engage surfaces within the recesses in the fastener head to drive the fastener when the driver is rotated in a first direction. The teeth engage the fastener head when the driver is rotated in an opposite direction to remove the fastener.

Abstract: A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and device that transmits a cryptographic variable input to a detachably coupled smart card. Execution of at least one of protected cryptographic algorithm operation by the smart card which requires the cryptographic variable input and a cryptographic constant input stored on the smart card to generate one or more cryptographic products is requested. The one or more generated cryptographic products from the smart card are received. An encrypted signal simulation based on execution of a simulator using the received one or more generated cryptographic products is generated and is output.

Abstract: A fastener has a head with a plurality of recesses. Each recess is defined by opposed side surfaces and a floor surface. One or both side surfaces of each recess may be formed of a lower facet which is oriented at an obtuse angle to the floor surface, and an upper facet which is oriented at an acute angle with respect to the floor surface.

Abstract: A driver for threaded fasteners has helical blades with engagement surfaces on one side and teeth on an opposite side. The engagement surfaces engage surfaces within the recesses in the fastener head to drive the fastener when the driver is rotated in a first direction. The teeth engage the fastener head when the driver is rotated in an opposite direction to remove the fastener.

Abstract: An energy absorber for the seat of a vehicle is designed to reduce the risk of injury to an occupant in the event of an abrupt movement or a collision involving a rear-facing passenger. The energy absorber may be disposed within a vehicle seat and may contain one or more crushable elements and/or pelvic support structures designed to minimize the impact of the collision on the rear-facing passenger. The energy absorber may contain one or more materials that plastically deform under a force imparted on the seat by the occupant accelerating relative to and toward the seat during the collision, while limiting or restricting deflection of the crushable elements in a lateral or vertical direction.

Abstract: A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and device that transmits a cryptographic variable input to a detachably coupled smart card. Execution of at least one of protected cryptographic algorithm operation by the smart card which requires the cryptographic variable input and a cryptographic constant input stored on the smart card to generate one or more cryptographic products is requested. The one or more generated cryptographic products from the smart card are received. An encrypted signal simulation based on execution of a simulator using the received one or more generated cryptographic products is generated and is output.

Abstract: A driver for applying torque to threaded fasteners has a plurality of teeth extending along and projecting outwardly from a longitudinal axis of a body on which the teeth are located. The teeth have a helical twist about the longitudinal axis. Each tooth has an angularly oriented engagement surface which is engageable with similarly angularly oriented surfaces within recesses in the head of a compatible fastener. When the driver engages the recesses torque applied to the driver draws the driver deeper into the recesses as the engagement surfaces react against and slide over the angularly oriented surfaces within the recesses. The torque also causes the fastener to turn and advance or retract depending upon the sense of the torque and the angles of the engagement surfaces and the angles of the surfaces within the recesses. The fastener and its method of manufacture are also disclosed.

Abstract: A driver for applying torque to threaded fasteners has a plurality of teeth extending along and projecting outwardly from a longitudinal axis of a body on which the teeth are located. The teeth have a helical twist about the longitudinal axis. Each tooth has an angularly oriented engagement surface which is engageable with similarly angularly oriented surfaces within recesses in the head of a compatible fastener. When the driver engages the recesses torque applied to the driver draws the driver deeper into the recesses as the engagement surfaces react against and slide over the angularly oriented surfaces within the recesses. The torque also causes the fastener to turn and advance or retract depending upon the sense of the torque and the angles of the engagement surfaces and the angles of the surfaces within the recesses. The fastener and its method of manufacture are also disclosed.

Abstract: A driver for applying torque to threaded fasteners has a plurality of teeth extending along and projecting outwardly from a longitudinal axis of a body on which the teeth are located. The teeth have a helical twist about the longitudinal axis. Each tooth has an angularly oriented engagement surface which is engageable with similarly angularly oriented surfaces within recesses in the head of a compatible fastener. When the driver engages the recesses torque applied to the driver draws the driver deeper into the recesses as the engagement surfaces react against and slide over the angularly oriented surfaces within the recesses. The torque also causes the fastener to turn and advance or retract depending upon the sense of the torque and the angles of the engagement surfaces and the angles of the surfaces within the recesses. The fastener and its method of manufacture are also disclosed.

Abstract: A driver for applying torque to threaded fasteners has a plurality of teeth extending along and projecting outwardly from a longitudinal axis of a body on which the teeth are located. The teeth have a helical twist about the longitudinal axis. Each tooth has an angularly oriented engagement surface which is engageable with similarly angularly oriented surfaces within recesses in the head of a compatible fastener. When the driver engages the recesses torque applied to the driver draws the driver deeper into the recesses as the engagement surfaces react against and slide over the angularly oriented surfaces within the recesses. The torque also causes the fastener to turn and advance or retract depending upon the sense of the torque and the angles of the engagement surfaces and the angles of the surfaces within the recesses. The fastener and its method of manufacture are also disclosed.

Abstract: A trash storage method for a package of goods which attaches a layer of material to a package thereby providing a volume for storing trash generated from the goods as the goods are removed from the package and consumed or used.

Abstract: A trash bag affixed to a container, whereby trash is generated as consumer or industrial goods are removed from the container and consumed or used, the trash bag then providing a convenient storage means for the trash. The trash bag is part of the container or, in another embodiment, is removable from the container.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of improving the delivery of services of a health care system by the application of a business change process to an existing health care system including the steps of: identifying components of patient experience as a patient is processed through the health care system; extracting existing data included in one or more data bases, pertaining to the health care system, identifying existing data that correlates with components of the patient experience and extracting that data and associating it with the relevant component, or interfaces therebetween, for subsequent analysis; obtaining a measure of the performance of the patient experience components by applying pre-defined checklists of queries to each identified component, and interfaces therebetween, and obtaining and rating responses to the queries, said patient responses collected from devices in electronic communication with a data gathering and recordal system and combining with any relevant existing data as it pert

Abstract: A new process for the production of methane gas from flush dairy operations utilizing heated baffles in a lagoon is disclosed. The baffles are aligned in rows with the rows oriented perpendicular to the flow of nutrient-rich liquid through the lagoon. The baffles are indirectly heated by either hot water or steam and are suspended sheets of porous material upon which methane-producing bacteria are resident. The methane is contained beneath and removed from an enclosing cover over the lagoon.

Abstract: An apparatus to repel non-raptorial birds and animals including but not limited to squirrels, rabbits, mice, rats, and deer from selected areas of a property. The apparatus, when placed in an area, convinces the birds and animals of the presence of a predator, a human being, and/or some other perceived threatening presence or a danger that self-motivates the birds and animals to avoid the area and prevents thus the contamination, defacing, and/or damage to the area from the bird feces or nesting and consumption and/or damage of garden plants, agricultural crops, trees, and/or shrubs by the other animals.

Abstract: An echo cancellation chip and supporting circuitry receiving inputs from a personal computer's speakers and microphone and outputting a filtered signal which contains the microphone signal, but with any signals acoustically coupled from the speaker circuit substantially reduced. The apparatus is designed to be 1.) external to the PC and serially cabled between the PC and its speaker and microphone, 2.) as a sub-circuit incorporated on the PC's sound card, or 3.) internal to the PC as a circuit on the PC's motherboard. The echo cancellations occur independently of the personal computers operations, though the circuit may have multiple modes which can be set by the system.

Abstract: A printer includes an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (“ASIC”) having an embedded printer controller and an embedded swath buffer for storing complete rows of compressed swath data. The embedded swath buffer may be a fraction of the size of a conventional swath buffer, which is not embedded and which does not store compressed swath data. A printer driver, resident in a host, transmits only complete rows of compressed swath data to the printer.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for manipulating digitized images stored as variable length encoded bitstreams such as JPEG format in a manner that reduces memory and processor resource requirements. A prescan means sequentially decompresses the bitstream to identify the location of encoded pixel image areas. Designated ones of these locations are recorded or stored in a prescan table. After the prescan operation has been performed on the image, image manipulations such as rotating, cropping, and zooming can be performed on a selected portion of the image by directly accessing only the encoded pixel image areas to be manipulated, without the need to sequentially decode and store all the encoded image areas in order to locate the ones of interest.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling firing energy in an inkjet printer are embodied in a control circuit and a regulated pen voltage source for an inkjet printer pen. The control circuit includes switches connected between the nozzle resistors of the pen and a low voltage rail. The control circuit is configured to control the voltages across the switches within a known tolerance, independent of variations in the switch current, integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations, and variations in the resistances of the nozzle resistors. The voltage provided to each nozzle resistor by the pen voltage source is adjusted to compensate for changes in the voltages across the switches.