57results about How to "Simple and reliable and inexpensive" patented technology

A combination temperature exposure indicator suitable for attachment to, or association with, a host product has a substrate, a freeze indicator supported by the substrate and a cumulative ambient time-temperature indicator also supported by the substrate. The freeze indicator can provide a visual indication of exposure of the freeze indicator to a freezing or near-freezing temperature and the cumulative time-temperature indicator can provide a visual indication of exposure of the cumulative time-temperature indicator to a predetermined cumulative time-temperature value. Also disclosed are: a combination freeze indicator and threshold temperature indicator; a combination threshold indicator and cumulative temperature indicator; and three-way combination indicators that can provide indications of cumulative past temperature exposure, exposure to freezing temperatures and exposure to a temperature above a threshold.

New applications of unidirectional airflow sensing in devices which measure inspiratory airflow and bidirectional airflow are provided. Such devices can be used for administration of a medication via inhalation, in spirometers and in devices which measure and monitor respiratory ventilation.

The present invention relates to a method and system for evaluating the quality of video data without gaining access to the source data. The system is configured to estimate sharpness metrics by detecting edge pixels and enclosing them with 8×8 pixel blocks. For each block, the sharpness according to the Kurtosis of the DCT is computed. The final metric is the average sharpness of the blocks in the edge profile and includes a robust combination of spatial and frequency domain information.

The present invention is a method and apparatus for testing random numbers generated by a random-number generator in real time. A stream of random bits generated by the random-number generator is converted into ±1 binary bits and segmented into a predefined block of vector bits, then these vectorss undergo a Hadamard-transform calculation. The Hadamard-transform output values are counted in each of a predetermined range of values and applied to an exponential frequency calculation to compute and update an average number of times that each output of the Hadamard-transforms falls into the corresponding predetermined range of values for a predetermined time period. The updated frequency values are compared to at least one predetermined acceptance range, so that if at least one of the updated frequency values repeatedly falls outside the predetermined acceptance range more than a predetermined number of times, it is determined that the generated random bits are insufficiently random.

An apparatus and method for wrapping a top and bottom of a load with packaging material is provided. The apparatus includes at least one non-driven packaging material guide is provided for use in combination with a powered conveying surface. The non-powered packaging material guide includes at least one row of non-driven wheels attached to a rail. The force applied by the packaging material as it is wrapped around the guide is supported by both the rail and the at least one row of non-driven wheels. The rail also serves to bridge any gaps between the non-driven wheels, thereby preventing capture of packaging material between the non-driven wheels. Preferably, the packaging material guide includes two rows of non-driven wheels, one on each side of the rail. Further, it is preferable that the rail connect the two rows of wheels such that the two rows of wheels form an angle of 60 degrees between them. The packaging material guide is preferably positioned above the load but may also be positioned either below the load or to the sides of the load.

A packaged gas-solubilized product is described. The gas-solubilized product contains a first gas with a first pressure. The product is placed into a flexible inner container made of a gas-impermeable material. The inner container is hermetically disposed inside an outer container. A space formed between the inner and the outer containers is charged with a second gas with an initial charging pressure. The initial charging pressure is higher than the pressure of the first gas contained in the product. Additionally, a product dispenser in a fluid connection with the product contained in the internal container is included. The present invention also provides a method of packaging a gas-solubilized product to prevent a change in the concentration of the gas dissolved in the product during its storage and dispensing.

An optical module includes a module body on which at least one photo diode is mounted, a filter holder inserted into the module body, and a thin film filter mounted on the filter holder in order to guide optical signals towards photo diodes in such a manner that optical signals with corresponding wavelengths are received in the photo diodes. The filter holder, on which the thin film filters are mounted, is fabricated separately from the module body and houses active elements, such as the laser diode and photo diodes. The filter holder is inserted into the module body thereafter, so the optical module is easily fabricated at a low cost and in a simple manner.

A method and system for estimating the quality of video data without gaining access to the source data, are configured to perform a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) from at least some of the pixel values of the image in at least the horizontal direction, and at most, in the horizontal and vertical directions for the luminance and chrominance components. An average FFT is used to calculate kurtosis and skewness, then an image-quality metric is determined by calculating an offset from the kurtosis and skewness outputs.