30results about How to "Minimizing labor" patented technology

A highly automated hog management system and method for housing, feeding and sorting hogs comprising a finishing barn partitioned into two separate pens each capable of holding at least 400 hogs in a large open area, with each room having a living or pen area and central shared but divided feeding area, such that through the adjustment of a gating and fencing system enclosing the feeding area, two pens of hogs can be sorted using a single electronic sorting scale, and wherein hogs are made to sort themselves by weight upon passing through the electronic sorting scale, which designates the animals as either light or heavy, and whereafter a diversion gate ushers them either into the regular feeding area with access back to the living area if they are designated as “light,” or into a separate holding pen if they are designated as “heavy. In addition, light and heavy hogs can be sorted between pens rather than in each pen separately. A sick pen area at each end of the building, having its own feed and water supply, is also provided.

A push-button, locking hinge assembly includes a base element, a push-button element, a cap element, an assembly to lock these three elements about a central axis, and a release assembly allowing the cap element to pivot 360 degrees transversely to the central axis and in relation to the base element. Geometric ends of the hinge assembly allow insertion into any two components to be so releasably pivoted and repositioned, and then locked into a desired position relative one to the other.

A pull-button, locking hinge assembly includes a base element, a pull-button element, a cap element, press fitted to arrange these three elements about a central axis, and a release assembly allowing the cap element to pivot 360 degrees transversely to the central axis and in relation to the base element. Geometric ends of the hinge assembly allow press fitted insertion into any two components to be so releasably pivoted and repositioned, and then locked into a desired position relative one to the other.

The invention is a tool set to use in cosmetic area to cut acrylic powder, to create or design the moon curves, arch lines, and borders, to set different colors and styles of full set or refill of the acrylic nails. The invention is operated and used after the method and process of applying acrylic powder, a mixture of monomer liquid and polymer powder mixed together to sculpture the nail bed for artificial nail enhancement. The invention has several individual shovel sizes that are best match to different fingers to create a natural-looking moon curve and various arch lines design. Each individual shovels has a shovel head and an elongated handle that are constructed together in a single element. Each shovel head is arched upward and convex curve which is attached to the opposite end of the elongated handle.

A portable thermal treatment and storage unit includes a housing with a thermal treatment chamber, and a support member secured to the housing and including a plurality of openings to receive and support food or beverage items such that a substantial portion of each of the food or beverage items is disposed within the housing chamber. Ports are disposed on at least one of the housing and support member. The ports provide a flow path between the chamber and an environment surrounding the unit to facilitate a flow of air into the housing, through the chamber, and out of the housing. The unit is insulated and configured to selectively open and close at least one port to limit or prevent the flow of air into the housing and through the chamber such that, when the at least one port is opened, the unit facilitates heat transfer between the flowing air and the food or beverage items supported by the support member so as to change the temperature of the food or beverage items. When the at least one port is closed, the unit insulates the food or beverage items to maintain the food or beverage items within a selected temperature range for a selected time period.

An access control system is provided for controlling access to multiple target servers in a networked environment. The access control system includes an access control user interface accessible to the target servers and a computer memory storing an access control database providing information to the access control user interface. The access control system additionally includes a management server including an access control processor, the access control processor implementing a discovery engine for discovering user rights stored at the target server and delivering the user rights stored at the target server over the network to the access control database. The access control processor further implements an event trigger engine invoked by a security event from at least one of the target servers, the event trigger engine updating the user rights stored at the target server and delivering the updated rights to the access control database and a client action trigger engine invoked via a local agent stored at the management server, the client action trigger engine collecting the updated rights and providing a notification.

A portable refrigeration and insulation unit includes a hollow cartridge with a sealed cavity and a top wall including a plurality of wells extending from the top wall. The wells are configured to receive and thermally treat food or beverage items, in particular slush beverage products, where each well is suitably contoured so as to contact a majority of outer surface area portions of a food or beverage item that is placed within the well. The cartridge cavity includes a heat transfer material that surrounds portions of the wells and facilitates heat transfer from food or beverage items placed within the wells to the heat transfer material during operation of the portable unit. The unit further includes an outer insulating case that receives the cartridge and provides additional insulation features. The cartridge is cooled to achieve a suitable temperature, is loaded with food or beverage items, and is placed within the case for use in a foodservice environment.

An air conditioner includes a pipe volume calculating section and a refrigerant circuit configured by the interconnection of a heat source unit and a utilization unit via a refrigerant communication pipe. The pipe volume calculating section calculates the volume of the refrigerant communication pipe based on an additional charging quantity which is a refrigerant quantity to be additionally charged after the refrigerant circuit is configured by interconnecting the heat source unit and the utilization unit via the refrigerant communication pipe.

A bracket assembly for adjustably and releasably affixing bracket elements to an adjustable elongated support member includes a cylindrical base, at least one cylindrical core having an orthogonal arm, and a cylindrical cap. The bracket assembly provides adjustable vertical bracket positioning by the adjustable elongated support member. Abutting bracket assembly cylindrical cores provide a range of orthogonal arm positions 180 degrees or less, one to the other. The orthogonal arm provides additional 360 degree adjustable positioning for any element attached to the arm outward end.

This invention is directed toward a method for wiring lighting systems, primarily low voltage, landscape lighting systems. The inventive method operates to equalize voltage drop across such lighting systems. The inventive method involves running a home run wire from a power source or transformer to a wiring hub. Two or more light fixtures having equal length wire leads are connected to the home run wire in the wiring hub. Each of the light fixtures are then arranged in the landscape lighting system around the wiring hub. Uniform voltage drop is achieved through the creation of equal distances between multiple light fixtures and a common power source. The common home run wire and equal length wire leads results is an equal distance from a common power source to each light fixture in the configuration.

Adjustable bracket apparatus includes connector apparatus for mounting and securing external assemblies on at least one elongated support member, and allows positional adjustment of the secured external assembly along the elongated support member with up to 360 degree rotational positioning of the bracketing assembly about the elongated support member. An adjustable connector and locking assembly is disposed at the end of an arm element embodiment of the adjustable bracketing assembly providing 360 degree rotational positioning of the external assembly about the arm element and translation transverse to the axis of rotation relative to the arm.

A free-wheeling hinge assembly includes a base element, a cap element, and an internal pivot assembly allowing the cap element to pivot 360 degrees transversely to a hinge assembly central axis and in relation to the base element. Geometric ends of the hinge assembly allow insertion into any two component corresponding geometric recesses to be so pivoted and repositioned.

An acid-functionalized polyolefin material that can be used as an acid catalyst in a wide range of acid-promoted chemical reactions, wherein the acid-functionalized polyolefin material includes a polyolefin backbone on which acid groups are appended. Also described is a method for the preparation of the acid catalyst in which a precursor polyolefin is subjected to ionizing radiation (e.g., electron beam irradiation) of sufficient power and the irradiated precursor polyolefin reacted with at least one vinyl monomer having an acid group thereon. Further described is a method for conducting an acid-promoted chemical reaction, wherein an acid-reactive organic precursor is contacted in liquid form with a solid heterogeneous acid catalyst comprising a polyolefin backbone of at least 1 micron in one dimension and having carboxylic acid groups and either sulfonic acid or phosphonic acid groups appended thereto.

A method of assembling an adjustable frame assembly for supporting a fenestration article includes the steps of sliding sections of each rail member along adjustment splices to adjust a width of the adjustable frame assembly and/or sliding sections of stile members along adjustment splices to adjust a height of the adjustable frame assembly. The fenestration article is disposed along a wall and at least partially within a groove of the rail member and stile member. A plurality of rail clips are inserted into the groove of each rail member to secure the fenestration article to each rail member. A plurality of stile clips are inserted into the groove of each stile member to secure the fenestration article to each stile member. The rail clips are disposed adjacent the stile clips to prevent adjustment of the width and/or height of the adjustable frame assembly resulting from compression forces.

A user programmable toy set comprising a master toy member; a microcontroller; a group of transducers and sensors, a software compiling program, a web site are provided to support users to program an interactive toy.

A programmable retail building kit comprising a controller unit to control a set of accessory article members is provided to enable a user to design, build and program a article. This retail building kit is also provided with a remote controller having a visual display unit and a sound transducer for the user to interface with the controller unit.

Provided is an adaptive IoT service system employing a removable hardware module. The system includes a peripheral device control module, a management server, an application program configuration manager, and a user terminal. The peripheral device control module is configured such that a control board thereof for controlling a corresponding one of IoT devices is mountable to and removable from a mainboard thereof. The management server relays real-time data transmitted from IoT devices, cumulative data, and type information to the user terminal, and relays and manages the data and information. The application configuration manager automatically constructs a user interface of the user terminal on the basis of the data managed by the management server. The system constructs a user interface in real time and automatically associates the IoT device with the application program in the user terminal.

A method of installing a carpet member in a motor vehicle includes the general step of orienting the carpet member so that an underside faces upward. The method additionally includes the step of engaging an edge of the carpet member with a plurality of studs upwardly extending from the vehicle. The method of the present invention further includes the step of rotating the carpet member about the plurality of studs to conceal the plurality of studs.

A retaining feature is provided for connecting a plastic tube to a corrugated acoustic duct. The retaining feature accommodates variations in the undulations and thread pattern of the corrugated duct, while at the same time minimizing the materials, specialized equipment or tools, labor and cost of making a successful connection. The retaining feature includes at least one barb extending circumferentially around the exterior surface of the plastic tube. Each barb is sized and structured to engage an undulation of the corrugated duct.