Prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP)
Patent 8,042,544
Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) may be prevented in a patient, or its occurrence reduced in a population of patients, by disposing in a patient airway an anti-VAP device or an anti-VAP material. By reducing the problem of bacterial-containing secretions that otherwise build up in the airway of the intubated patient, VAP can be prevented from occurring in intubated patients, such as patients intubated with an endotracheal tube (ETT) or a nasogastric tube.
Inventors: Kevin R. Ward (Glen Allen); Curtis N. Sessler (Richmond); Mary Jo Grap (Midlothian); Laurence J. Dinardo (Richmond); Bruce D. Spiess (Manakin Sabot); Rao R. Ivatury (Richmond); Cindy Munro (Richmond)
Assignee: Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
Oct. 25, 2011
Systems and methods for offering wireless financial accounts
Patent 8,041,608
Systems and methods consistent with the invention may offer a new financial account having a balance transfer sub-account for implementation onto a customer’s wireless purchasing device. The purchasing device may have a wireless transmitter that may communicate account information stored on the purchasing device to a service terminal. Based on the account information received by the service terminal, the system may obtain the terms of the customer’s current account associated with the purchasing device. The system may then determine the terms of the new account for offering to the customer. If the customer accepts the offered account, the terminal may then wirelessly reprogram the purchasing device with the information of the new account and transfer the balance of the customer’s original account to the balance transfer sub-account of the new account.
Inventors: Diane Enroughty (Richmond)
Assignee: Capital One Financial Corporation (McLean, Va.)
Oct. 18, 2011
Durability monitoring and improvement of a blender
Patent 8,042,990
A blender for blending foodstuff includes a base enclosing a motor and a jar sensor secured to the base. The base has an upper mounting surface and the motor is mounted beneath the upper mounting surface. The jar sensor is secured to the base proximate the upper mounting surface. A jar is removably mountable to the base on the mounting surface. The jar includes a closed end and an actuator is mounted proximate the lower jar surface. The jar sensor detects the presence of the actuator when the jar is mounted to the base in an operating position. The motor is powered when the jar sensor detects the presence of the actuator in the operating position.
Inventors: Ernest B. Pryor, Jr. (Maidens); Steven W. Ashworth (Richmond)
Assignee: Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. (Glen Allen)
Oct. 25, 2011
Incorporation of ammonia-release compounds in smoking articles
Patent 8,042,552
A tobacco smoking mixture including an ammonia-release compound adapted to be formed into a lit-end cigarette is provided. The ammonia-release compound is incorporated in or on tobacco cut filler in an amount effective to reduce the cytotoxicity, and/or selective smoke constituents of cigarette smoke. Exemplary ammonia-release compounds include ammonium acetate, ammonium hydroxide, hexammine cobalt (III) chloride, hexammine cobalt (III) acetate, and combinations thereof. The ammonia-release compounds can release ammonia at temperatures between about 60.degree. C. and about 400.degree. C. Ammonia-release compounds can be combined with additives, such as glycerine, cobalt acetate, copper (II) acetate, zinc acetate, other metal salts or combinations thereof, to further reduce the cytotoxicity of cigarette smoke.
Inventors: Lixin Xue (Midlothian); W. Geoffrey Chan (Chesterfield); Mohammad Hajaligol (Glen Allen)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
Oct. 25, 2011
Folded pack
Patent D647,395
Claims the ornamental design for a folded pack.
Inventors: Robert Mitten (Glen Allen); Christopher J. Hession (Mechanicsville); Ed Fuller (Ashland)
Assignee: Altria Client Services Inc. (Richmond)
Oct. 25, 2011
Workflow decision management with heuristics
Patent 8,046,734
Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for workflow decision management. Embodiments typically include maintaining a device state history; identifying a device usage pattern in dependence upon the device state history; identifying a derived scenario in dependence upon the device usage pattern; and selecting a heuristic in dependence upon the derived scenario. In typical embodiments, the heuristic has a tolerance. Embodiments also include identifying a workflow in dependence upon the selected heuristic and executing the workflow in dependence upon the tolerance.
Inventors: William A. Brown (Raleigh, N.C.); Richard William Muirhead (Tyler, Texas); Francis Xavier Reddington (Richmond)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, N.Y.)
Oct. 25, 2011
High opacity tickets
Patent 8,043,475
A ticket stock and manufacturing process wherein a pulp is formulated from a blend of recycled furnishes, with added starch for enhancing sheet stiffness and reducing linting and dusting on cut edges of the stock, and clay or other opacifier for enhancing opacity of the stock. A preferred pulp comprises a blend of recycled solid bleached sulfate plate stock, recycled coated soft white, and recycled ground wood furnish such as newsprint or the like. In one embodiment, the blend comprises about 25-50 wt. % recycled solid bleached sulfate plate stock, about 25-50 wt. % recycled coated soft white, and about 15-25 wt. % recycled ground wood furnish. The furnish blend is repulped with minimal mechanical refining, is treated with steam injection for hydrating and softening the fibers, and is formed into a web that is pressed, dried, and soft calendered. The caliper of the resulting stock is about 7 to 9 points and provides a ticket for use in prize redemption in family entertainment centers, arcades, location-based entertainment centers, amusement parks, and similar establishments. The ticket may also be used to conduct drawings, raffles and give-a-ways. The ticket may be formed from a sheet of reply card stock paper having a caliper characteristic in the range of 5 and 11 points.
Inventors: Theodore B. Shockley (Albany, Ind.); Harris Bacon (Richmond); James G. Schmidt (Greenleaf, Wisc.); Mark Velicer (De Pere, Wisc.)
Assignee: Indiana Ticket Company (Muncie, Ind.)
Oct. 25, 2011
Laminate electrical insulation part
Patent 8,039,095
This invention relates to a laminate electrical insulation part for an electrical device comprising a thermoplastic film positioned between, adjacent to, and attached to two nonwoven sheets. Each of the nonwoven sheets consists of multicomponent polymeric fibers comprising at least a first polymer and a second polymer, the first polymer having a melting point that is at least 15 degrees Celsius lower than both the melting point of the second polymer and the melting point of the thermoplastic film, and the film is attached to the nonwoven sheets by the first polymer in the nonwoven sheets. The electrical insulation part has a breakdown voltage of at least 3 kilovolts, and a surface having a dynamic frictional coefficient of 0.25 or less. This invention also relates to an electrical device component comprising the laminate electrical insulation part.
Inventors: Peter J. Hollberg (Midlothian); Mikhail R. Levit (Glen Allen); Brian P. Little (Midlothian); Xun Ma (Midlothian); Brian Keith Trask (Midlothian); Roger Curtis Wicks (Colonial Heights); Bruce A. Yost (Landenberg, Pa.)
Assignee: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Wilmington, Del.)
Oct. 18, 2011
Liquid filtration media
Patent 8,038,013
A liquid filter with a composite medium that has a nanoweb adjacent to and optionally bonded to a microporous membrane. The membrane is characterized by an LRV value of 3.7 at a rated particle size, and the nanoweb has a fractional filtration efficiency of greater than 0.95 at the rated particle size of the membrane. The nanoweb also has a thickness efficiency ratio of greater than 0.01 at that efficiency. The nanoweb acts to provide depth filtration to the membrane, prefilters particles and extends the lifetime of the membrane.
Inventors: Guanghui Chen (Glen Allen); Henricus Jacobus Cornelis Gommeren (Hockessin, Del.); Lawrence Mark Knorr (Midlothian)
Assignee: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Wilmington, Del.)
Oct. 18, 2011
Prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP)
Patent 8,042,544
Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) may be prevented in a patient, or its occurrence reduced in a population of patients, by disposing in a patient airway an anti-VAP device or an anti-VAP material. By reducing the problem of bacterial-containing secretions that otherwise build up in the airway of the intubated patient, VAP can be prevented from occurring in intubated patients, such as patients intubated with an endotracheal tube (ETT) or a nasogastric tube.
Inventors: Kevin R. Ward (Glen Allen); Curtis N. Sessler (Richmond); Mary Jo Grap (Midlothian); Laurence J. Dinardo (Richmond); Bruce D. Spiess (Manakin Sabot); Rao R. Ivatury (Richmond); Cindy Munro (Richmond)
Assignee: Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)
Oct. 25, 2011
Systems and methods for offering wireless financial accounts
Patent 8,041,608
Systems and methods consistent with the invention may offer a new financial account having a balance transfer sub-account for implementation onto a customer’s wireless purchasing device. The purchasing device may have a wireless transmitter that may communicate account information stored on the purchasing device to a service terminal. Based on the account information received by the service terminal, the system may obtain the terms of the customer’s current account associated with the purchasing device. The system may then determine the terms of the new account for offering to the customer. If the customer accepts the offered account, the terminal may then wirelessly reprogram the purchasing device with the information of the new account and transfer the balance of the customer’s original account to the balance transfer sub-account of the new account.
Inventors: Diane Enroughty (Richmond)
Assignee: Capital One Financial Corporation (McLean, Va.)
Oct. 18, 2011
Durability monitoring and improvement of a blender
Patent 8,042,990
A blender for blending foodstuff includes a base enclosing a motor and a jar sensor secured to the base. The base has an upper mounting surface and the motor is mounted beneath the upper mounting surface. The jar sensor is secured to the base proximate the upper mounting surface. A jar is removably mountable to the base on the mounting surface. The jar includes a closed end and an actuator is mounted proximate the lower jar surface. The jar sensor detects the presence of the actuator when the jar is mounted to the base in an operating position. The motor is powered when the jar sensor detects the presence of the actuator in the operating position.
Inventors: Ernest B. Pryor, Jr. (Maidens); Steven W. Ashworth (Richmond)
Assignee: Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. (Glen Allen)
Oct. 25, 2011
Incorporation of ammonia-release compounds in smoking articles
Patent 8,042,552
A tobacco smoking mixture including an ammonia-release compound adapted to be formed into a lit-end cigarette is provided. The ammonia-release compound is incorporated in or on tobacco cut filler in an amount effective to reduce the cytotoxicity, and/or selective smoke constituents of cigarette smoke. Exemplary ammonia-release compounds include ammonium acetate, ammonium hydroxide, hexammine cobalt (III) chloride, hexammine cobalt (III) acetate, and combinations thereof. The ammonia-release compounds can release ammonia at temperatures between about 60.degree. C. and about 400.degree. C. Ammonia-release compounds can be combined with additives, such as glycerine, cobalt acetate, copper (II) acetate, zinc acetate, other metal salts or combinations thereof, to further reduce the cytotoxicity of cigarette smoke.
Inventors: Lixin Xue (Midlothian); W. Geoffrey Chan (Chesterfield); Mohammad Hajaligol (Glen Allen)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
Oct. 25, 2011
Folded pack
Patent D647,395
Claims the ornamental design for a folded pack.
Inventors: Robert Mitten (Glen Allen); Christopher J. Hession (Mechanicsville); Ed Fuller (Ashland)
Assignee: Altria Client Services Inc. (Richmond)
Oct. 25, 2011
Workflow decision management with heuristics
Patent 8,046,734
Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for workflow decision management. Embodiments typically include maintaining a device state history; identifying a device usage pattern in dependence upon the device state history; identifying a derived scenario in dependence upon the device usage pattern; and selecting a heuristic in dependence upon the derived scenario. In typical embodiments, the heuristic has a tolerance. Embodiments also include identifying a workflow in dependence upon the selected heuristic and executing the workflow in dependence upon the tolerance.
Inventors: William A. Brown (Raleigh, N.C.); Richard William Muirhead (Tyler, Texas); Francis Xavier Reddington (Richmond)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, N.Y.)
Oct. 25, 2011
High opacity tickets
Patent 8,043,475
A ticket stock and manufacturing process wherein a pulp is formulated from a blend of recycled furnishes, with added starch for enhancing sheet stiffness and reducing linting and dusting on cut edges of the stock, and clay or other opacifier for enhancing opacity of the stock. A preferred pulp comprises a blend of recycled solid bleached sulfate plate stock, recycled coated soft white, and recycled ground wood furnish such as newsprint or the like. In one embodiment, the blend comprises about 25-50 wt. % recycled solid bleached sulfate plate stock, about 25-50 wt. % recycled coated soft white, and about 15-25 wt. % recycled ground wood furnish. The furnish blend is repulped with minimal mechanical refining, is treated with steam injection for hydrating and softening the fibers, and is formed into a web that is pressed, dried, and soft calendered. The caliper of the resulting stock is about 7 to 9 points and provides a ticket for use in prize redemption in family entertainment centers, arcades, location-based entertainment centers, amusement parks, and similar establishments. The ticket may also be used to conduct drawings, raffles and give-a-ways. The ticket may be formed from a sheet of reply card stock paper having a caliper characteristic in the range of 5 and 11 points.
Inventors: Theodore B. Shockley (Albany, Ind.); Harris Bacon (Richmond); James G. Schmidt (Greenleaf, Wisc.); Mark Velicer (De Pere, Wisc.)
Assignee: Indiana Ticket Company (Muncie, Ind.)
Oct. 25, 2011
Laminate electrical insulation part
Patent 8,039,095
This invention relates to a laminate electrical insulation part for an electrical device comprising a thermoplastic film positioned between, adjacent to, and attached to two nonwoven sheets. Each of the nonwoven sheets consists of multicomponent polymeric fibers comprising at least a first polymer and a second polymer, the first polymer having a melting point that is at least 15 degrees Celsius lower than both the melting point of the second polymer and the melting point of the thermoplastic film, and the film is attached to the nonwoven sheets by the first polymer in the nonwoven sheets. The electrical insulation part has a breakdown voltage of at least 3 kilovolts, and a surface having a dynamic frictional coefficient of 0.25 or less. This invention also relates to an electrical device component comprising the laminate electrical insulation part.
Inventors: Peter J. Hollberg (Midlothian); Mikhail R. Levit (Glen Allen); Brian P. Little (Midlothian); Xun Ma (Midlothian); Brian Keith Trask (Midlothian); Roger Curtis Wicks (Colonial Heights); Bruce A. Yost (Landenberg, Pa.)
Assignee: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Wilmington, Del.)
Oct. 18, 2011
Liquid filtration media
Patent 8,038,013
A liquid filter with a composite medium that has a nanoweb adjacent to and optionally bonded to a microporous membrane. The membrane is characterized by an LRV value of 3.7 at a rated particle size, and the nanoweb has a fractional filtration efficiency of greater than 0.95 at the rated particle size of the membrane. The nanoweb also has a thickness efficiency ratio of greater than 0.01 at that efficiency. The nanoweb acts to provide depth filtration to the membrane, prefilters particles and extends the lifetime of the membrane.
Inventors: Guanghui Chen (Glen Allen); Henricus Jacobus Cornelis Gommeren (Hockessin, Del.); Lawrence Mark Knorr (Midlothian)
Assignee: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Wilmington, Del.)
Oct. 18, 2011