Apparatus and method for providing an in-store customer test track
Patent 8,425,336
An apparatus and method is described for providing an indoor track to permit consumers to evaluate a rollable product such as a stroller on different surfaces such a asphalt, cobblestone, brick, grass, and the like. The track may include multiple sections with different compositions that provide different effects on the rollable product so that comparisons might be made between different products when pushed across the track.
Inventors: David Munzlinger (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Tobacco-free oral flavor delivery pouch product
Patent 8,424,541
Provided is a tobacco-free oral flavor delivery pouch product that provides and engaging and flavorful experience to a user. The pouch product includes a porous pouch wrapper and an inner filling material. The inner filling material can include a non-tobacco, botanical component, at least one functional ingredient and a solid flavor component dispersed throughout the inner filling material. The pouch product delivers multiple textures to the user’s mouth.
Inventors: Danielle R. Crawford (Chester); Karen Brooks (Midlothian); Kenneth A. Newman (Prince George); William R. Sweeney (Richmond); Fernando L. Chappell Sr.; (Colonial Heights)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Smoking article with valved restrictor
Patent 8,424,540
A smoking article filter includes a valved flow restrictor and a cavity downstream of the flow restrictor. The flow restrictor includes an orifice or flow channel for directing smoke into the cavity. The filter is attached to the tobacco rod with tipping paper and includes an air-admissible ventilating zone at a location downstream of the restrictor. The valved restrictor can be used to isolate a sorbent bearing component of the filter from a flavor bearing component.
Inventors: Raquel Olegario (Richmond); San Li (Midlothian); Roland W. Dwyer (Richmond); Mike Braunshteyn (Richmond)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Smoking article with single piece restrictor and chamber
Patent 8,424,539
A smoking article having a filter segment that establishes both a desired resistance to draw and a mixing of mainstream smoke with ventilation air. The filter segment includes a fluted portion, a frusto-conical portion and axially extending orifices establishing fluid communication between the frusto-conical portion and voids between one or more walls of the fluted portion.
Inventors: Michael Braunshteyn (Richmond); San Li (Midlothian); Raquel Olegario (Richmond)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Devices, systems, and methods for medicament delivery
Patent 8,425,462
An apparatus includes a housing, a medicament container, an actuator, and a biasing member. The actuator is configured to move the medicament container within the housing when the actuator is moved from a first configuration to a second configuration. The actuator includes a gas container and a puncturer. When the actuator is in the first configuration, a portion of the puncturer is disposed apart from the gas container. When the actuator is in the second configuration, the portion of the puncturer is disposed within the gas container. The gas container has a longitudinal axis offset from a longitudinal axis of the medicament container. The biasing member is configured to bias the actuator toward the second configuration.
Inventors: Eric Shawn Edwards (Midlothian); Evan Thomas Edwards (Gordonsville, Va.)
Assignee: Intelliject, Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Methods and systems for movement of robotic device using video signal
Patent 8,423,225
A method of navigating an area using a mobile robotic device may include receiving, from a video camera, information associated with an edge located on a surface, determining, by a mobile robotic device, a position of the mobile robotic device on the surface relative to the edge and using the received information to move the mobile robotic device from the determined position along a path. The path may be substantially parallel to the edge, and may be located a distance from a reference point on the mobile robotic device during movement of the mobile robotic device.
Inventors: Henry L. Hillman, Jr. (Vancouver, Wash.).; David M. Knuth, Jr. (East Dubuque, Ill.); Daniel M. Daly (Brownsburgh, Ind.); Vinton Coffman (Pittsburgh); Ralph McCann (Richmond); Stephen D. Herr (Richmond); Kevin L. Thomas (Richmond)
Assignee: Intellibot Robotics LLC (Portland, Ore.)
April 16, 2013
Systems and methods for processing a transaction
Patent 8,423,453
A system and method for processing a transaction by identifying a credit account and a demand deposit account, receiving transaction data associated with a transaction initiated by an account holder with a merchant using the credit account, determining whether the transaction amount exceeds the available credit amount, requesting via a network a transfer of the transaction amount from the demand deposit account, and transferring at least a portion of the transaction amount to pay the merchant. The transfer may be a first type of transfer or a second type of transfer depending on whether the transaction amount exceeds the available credit amount.
Inventors: Richard Elliott (Glen Allen)
Assignee: Capital One Financial Corporation (McLean, Va.)
April 16, 2013
Olefin copolymer dispersant VI improver and lubricant compositions and uses thereof
Patent 8,420,583
A lubricating oil composition and methods of operating an internal combustion engine to provide improved engine operation. The lubricating composition includes a major amount of oil of lubricating viscosity; and a minor amount of at least one highly grafted, multi-functional olefin copolymer made by reacting an acylating agent with an olefin copolymer having a number average molecular weight greater than about 10,000 up to about 50,000 in the presence of a free radical initiator to provide an acylated olefin copolymer having a degree of grafting (DOG) of the acylating agent on the olefin copolymer of from above about 1.5 to about 3.0 wt. %. The acylated olefin copolymer is then reacted with an amine to provide the highly grafted, multi-functional olefin copolymer.
Inventors: Philip J. Boegner (Glen Allen); Charles A. Passut (Midlothian)
Assignee: Afton Chemical Corporation (Richmond)
April 16, 2013
Convert significand of decimal floating point data to packed decimal format
Patent 8,423,595
A decimal floating point finite number in a decimal floating point format is composed from the number in a different format. A decimal floating point format includes fields to hold information relating to the sign, exponent and significand of the decimal floating point finite number. Other decimal floating point data, including infinities and NaNs (not a number), are also composed. Decimal floating point data are also decomposed from the decimal floating point format to a different format. For composition and decomposition, one or more instructions may be employed, including one or more convert instructions.
Inventors: Shawn D. Lundvall (Midlothian); Eric M. Schwarz (Gardiner, N.Y.); Ronald M. Smith Sr. (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.); Phil C. Yeh (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, N.Y.)
April 16, 2013
Melt spinning blends of UHMWPE and HDPE and fibers made therefrom
Patent 8,426,510
Compositions that are intimate blends of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and which are melt spinnable. The compositions include certain quasi-spherical particles. Also disclosed is a method of melt spinning from such compositions and the multi-filament fibers produced thereby. The fibers of the invention are useful in a variety of applications.
Inventors: Thomas Yiu-Tai Tam (Richmond); Norman Aminuddin (Midlothian); John A. Young (Midlothian)
Assignee: Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, N.J.)
April 23, 2013
Process and apparatus for the production of yarn
Patent 8,419,989
The present invention concerns a process and apparatus for spinning polymer filaments comprising extruding a polymer solution to form one or more filaments into an air gap above a coagulation liquid, where the filaments are subject to strain; forming a downward stream of liquid and filaments by contacting the polymer solution with a coagulation liquid; passing the filaments and liquid through a quench tube; contacting the liquid with a surface such that the downward force of gravity on the liquid does not increase the strain of the filaments in the air gap; and separating the liquid from the filaments.
Inventors: Christopher William Newton (Richmond)
Assignee: Magellan Systems International LLC (Wilmington, Del.); E I du Pont de Nemours and Company (Wilmington, Del.)
April 16, 2013
Apparatus and method for providing an in-store customer test track
Patent 8,425,336
An apparatus and method is described for providing an indoor track to permit consumers to evaluate a rollable product such as a stroller on different surfaces such a asphalt, cobblestone, brick, grass, and the like. The track may include multiple sections with different compositions that provide different effects on the rollable product so that comparisons might be made between different products when pushed across the track.
Inventors: David Munzlinger (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Tobacco-free oral flavor delivery pouch product
Patent 8,424,541
Provided is a tobacco-free oral flavor delivery pouch product that provides and engaging and flavorful experience to a user. The pouch product includes a porous pouch wrapper and an inner filling material. The inner filling material can include a non-tobacco, botanical component, at least one functional ingredient and a solid flavor component dispersed throughout the inner filling material. The pouch product delivers multiple textures to the user’s mouth.
Inventors: Danielle R. Crawford (Chester); Karen Brooks (Midlothian); Kenneth A. Newman (Prince George); William R. Sweeney (Richmond); Fernando L. Chappell Sr.; (Colonial Heights)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Smoking article with valved restrictor
Patent 8,424,540
A smoking article filter includes a valved flow restrictor and a cavity downstream of the flow restrictor. The flow restrictor includes an orifice or flow channel for directing smoke into the cavity. The filter is attached to the tobacco rod with tipping paper and includes an air-admissible ventilating zone at a location downstream of the restrictor. The valved restrictor can be used to isolate a sorbent bearing component of the filter from a flavor bearing component.
Inventors: Raquel Olegario (Richmond); San Li (Midlothian); Roland W. Dwyer (Richmond); Mike Braunshteyn (Richmond)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Smoking article with single piece restrictor and chamber
Patent 8,424,539
A smoking article having a filter segment that establishes both a desired resistance to draw and a mixing of mainstream smoke with ventilation air. The filter segment includes a fluted portion, a frusto-conical portion and axially extending orifices establishing fluid communication between the frusto-conical portion and voids between one or more walls of the fluted portion.
Inventors: Michael Braunshteyn (Richmond); San Li (Midlothian); Raquel Olegario (Richmond)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Devices, systems, and methods for medicament delivery
Patent 8,425,462
An apparatus includes a housing, a medicament container, an actuator, and a biasing member. The actuator is configured to move the medicament container within the housing when the actuator is moved from a first configuration to a second configuration. The actuator includes a gas container and a puncturer. When the actuator is in the first configuration, a portion of the puncturer is disposed apart from the gas container. When the actuator is in the second configuration, the portion of the puncturer is disposed within the gas container. The gas container has a longitudinal axis offset from a longitudinal axis of the medicament container. The biasing member is configured to bias the actuator toward the second configuration.
Inventors: Eric Shawn Edwards (Midlothian); Evan Thomas Edwards (Gordonsville, Va.)
Assignee: Intelliject, Inc. (Richmond)
April 23, 2013
Methods and systems for movement of robotic device using video signal
Patent 8,423,225
A method of navigating an area using a mobile robotic device may include receiving, from a video camera, information associated with an edge located on a surface, determining, by a mobile robotic device, a position of the mobile robotic device on the surface relative to the edge and using the received information to move the mobile robotic device from the determined position along a path. The path may be substantially parallel to the edge, and may be located a distance from a reference point on the mobile robotic device during movement of the mobile robotic device.
Inventors: Henry L. Hillman, Jr. (Vancouver, Wash.).; David M. Knuth, Jr. (East Dubuque, Ill.); Daniel M. Daly (Brownsburgh, Ind.); Vinton Coffman (Pittsburgh); Ralph McCann (Richmond); Stephen D. Herr (Richmond); Kevin L. Thomas (Richmond)
Assignee: Intellibot Robotics LLC (Portland, Ore.)
April 16, 2013
Systems and methods for processing a transaction
Patent 8,423,453
A system and method for processing a transaction by identifying a credit account and a demand deposit account, receiving transaction data associated with a transaction initiated by an account holder with a merchant using the credit account, determining whether the transaction amount exceeds the available credit amount, requesting via a network a transfer of the transaction amount from the demand deposit account, and transferring at least a portion of the transaction amount to pay the merchant. The transfer may be a first type of transfer or a second type of transfer depending on whether the transaction amount exceeds the available credit amount.
Inventors: Richard Elliott (Glen Allen)
Assignee: Capital One Financial Corporation (McLean, Va.)
April 16, 2013
Olefin copolymer dispersant VI improver and lubricant compositions and uses thereof
Patent 8,420,583
A lubricating oil composition and methods of operating an internal combustion engine to provide improved engine operation. The lubricating composition includes a major amount of oil of lubricating viscosity; and a minor amount of at least one highly grafted, multi-functional olefin copolymer made by reacting an acylating agent with an olefin copolymer having a number average molecular weight greater than about 10,000 up to about 50,000 in the presence of a free radical initiator to provide an acylated olefin copolymer having a degree of grafting (DOG) of the acylating agent on the olefin copolymer of from above about 1.5 to about 3.0 wt. %. The acylated olefin copolymer is then reacted with an amine to provide the highly grafted, multi-functional olefin copolymer.
Inventors: Philip J. Boegner (Glen Allen); Charles A. Passut (Midlothian)
Assignee: Afton Chemical Corporation (Richmond)
April 16, 2013
Convert significand of decimal floating point data to packed decimal format
Patent 8,423,595
A decimal floating point finite number in a decimal floating point format is composed from the number in a different format. A decimal floating point format includes fields to hold information relating to the sign, exponent and significand of the decimal floating point finite number. Other decimal floating point data, including infinities and NaNs (not a number), are also composed. Decimal floating point data are also decomposed from the decimal floating point format to a different format. For composition and decomposition, one or more instructions may be employed, including one or more convert instructions.
Inventors: Shawn D. Lundvall (Midlothian); Eric M. Schwarz (Gardiner, N.Y.); Ronald M. Smith Sr. (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.); Phil C. Yeh (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, N.Y.)
April 16, 2013
Melt spinning blends of UHMWPE and HDPE and fibers made therefrom
Patent 8,426,510
Compositions that are intimate blends of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and which are melt spinnable. The compositions include certain quasi-spherical particles. Also disclosed is a method of melt spinning from such compositions and the multi-filament fibers produced thereby. The fibers of the invention are useful in a variety of applications.
Inventors: Thomas Yiu-Tai Tam (Richmond); Norman Aminuddin (Midlothian); John A. Young (Midlothian)
Assignee: Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, N.J.)
April 23, 2013
Process and apparatus for the production of yarn
Patent 8,419,989
The present invention concerns a process and apparatus for spinning polymer filaments comprising extruding a polymer solution to form one or more filaments into an air gap above a coagulation liquid, where the filaments are subject to strain; forming a downward stream of liquid and filaments by contacting the polymer solution with a coagulation liquid; passing the filaments and liquid through a quench tube; contacting the liquid with a surface such that the downward force of gravity on the liquid does not increase the strain of the filaments in the air gap; and separating the liquid from the filaments.
Inventors: Christopher William Newton (Richmond)
Assignee: Magellan Systems International LLC (Wilmington, Del.); E I du Pont de Nemours and Company (Wilmington, Del.)
April 16, 2013