1-15. (canceled)
16. A packaging for at least one product, the packaging comprising:
a film configured to wrap around the at least one product.
17. The packaging of claim 16 wherein the at least one product is a plurality of wafers.
18. The packaging of claim 17 wherein the wafers are stacked directly upon each other to define a stack, and the stack is wrapped directly in the film.
19. The packaging of claim 18 further comprising:
a first cover plate disposed at the top of the stack; and
a second cover plated disposed at the bottom of the stack,
wherein the stack, the first cover plate, and the second cover plate are wrapped in the film.
20. The packaging of claim 18 further comprising:
one or more separating elements placed between the wafers of the stack, and the stack and the one or more separating elements are wrapped directly in the film.
21. The packaging of claim 16 further comprising:
an outer shrink film combined with the film.
22. The packaging of claim 18 further comprising:
a separating element arranged between an adjacent pair of the wafers in the stack, the separating element in the form of a thin intermediate layer comprising a deformable material.
23. The packaging of claim 22 wherein the deformable material is cardboard, paper, tissue paper, film, felt, non-woven material, plastic, foam, biologically degradable foam, or laminated material.
24. The packaging of claim 22 wherein the separating element has a size andor an arrangement between the adjacent pair of the wafers that the separating element partially projects laterally from adjacent pair of the wafers.
25. The packaging of claim 18 further comprising:
a plurality of separating elements arranged between adjacent pairs the wafers in the stack, each of the separating elements in the form of a thin intermediate layer comprising a deformable material.
26. The packaging of claim 25 wherein the separating elements are composed of laminations of different materials configures to apply a pressure against the film.
27. The packaging of claim 25 wherein the separating elements are configured with a surface structure that the wafers can be released from the separating element.
28. The packaging of claim 27 wherein the surface structure is configured to promote air flow that releases the wafers from the separating elements.
29. The packaging of claim 25 wherein the surface structure is knobs, structured air passages, cut-outs, through openings in each separating element, or through openings on each separating element.
30. The packaging of claim 18 further comprising:
a first cushion element arranged at an outside edge of the stack.
31. The packaging of claim 30 further comprising:
a second cushion element arranged at a mutually opposite side of the stack from the first cushion element.
32. The packaging of claim 30 wherein the first cushion element is arranged at an outside edge of the stack.
33. The packaging of claim 30 wherein the first cushion element extends substantially over the entire outside edge.
34. The packaging of claim 33 wherein the first cushion element has a plurality of straight wall portions.
35. The packaging of claim 30 wherein the first cushion element has a plurality of recesses which, in the packaged condition, are arranged substantially opposite the corners of the wafers in the stack.
36. The packaging of claim 30 wherein the first cushion element has a higher strength at a perimeter than at a location inside the perimeter.
37. The packaging of claim 30 wherein the first cushion element has a reinforcing layer disposed at a perimeter of the first cushion element.
38. The packaging of claim 18 further comprising:
a shell including a plurality of shell portions configured to be fitted about the stack of the wafers or the solar cells.
39. The packaging of claim 18 further comprising:
a shell including a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls, and the stack of the wafers or the solar cells can be fitted into an opening in opposite relationship to the bottom wall and into the shell.
40. The packaging of claim 39 wherein a plurality of cushion elements are arranged between the bottom wall, the side walls, and the stack of the wafers.
41. The packaging of claim 39 further comprising:
a cushion element defining a cover that closes the shell.
42. The packaging of claim 39 further comprising:
a shrinkable film or a cardboard box at least partially enclosing the shell.
43. The packaging of claim 16 further comprising:
a carrier element configured to carry the at least one product and dimensioned such that the at least one product can be placed completely on a side of the carrier element, the carrier element further configured to be stackable together with a plurality of additional carrier elements.
44. The packaging of claim 43 further comprising:
means for positioning the at least one product on the carrier element.
45. The packaging of claim 43 wherein the carrier element includes a depression in which the at least one product is laid.
46. The packaging of claim 45 wherein the depression is shaped to substantially correspond to a contour of the at least one product, and the at least one product is arranged completely or substantially within the depression.
47. The packaging of claim 46 wherein the depression is substantially parallelepipedic, substantially square, or substantially cylindrical.
48. The packaging of claim 43 further comprising:
an information carrier arranged on the carrier element.
49. The packaging of claim 48 wherein the information carrier comprises a barcode, a RFID, a data chip, or a printed label.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. Apparatus for controlling a television receiver in response to proximity of a person, the television receiver comprising a screen, a line of sight signal sensor, a remote control for transmitting commands encoded on a line of sight carrier signal to the signal sensor, and a controller that controls the television receiver in response to receipt of an encoded command by the signal sensor, the apparatus comprising:
a base unit adjacent to the television receiver, the base unit comprising proximity sensing means for sensing if a person is within a predetermined range forward of the television screen, transmitting means for transmitting a triggering signal, and control means response to the proximity sensing means for actuating the transmitting means to transmit the triggering signal; and,
a slave unit remote from the television receiver, the slave unit comprising receiving means for receiving the triggering signal from the base unit, transmitting means for transmitting a command encoded on the line of sight carrier signal to the sensor of the television receiver, and control means responsive to the received triggering signal for actuating the transmitting means to transmit the command.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the transmitted command instructs the controller to shut the television receiver off.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which:
the base unit comprises indicator means for producing an audible or visual warning signal; and,
the control means actuate the indicator means when the proximity sensing means sense a person within the range and actuate the transmitting means to transmit the triggering signal if the person remains within the range for a predetermined period of time.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the transmitting means of the base unit and the receiving means of the slave unit are adapted for wireless transmission and receipt of the triggering signal via an omnidirectional signal carrier.
5. Apparatus for controlling a television receiver in response to proximity of a person, the television receiver comprising a screen, a line of sight signal sensor, and a controller that controls the television receiver in response to predetermined commands received by the signal sensor encoded on a line of sight carrier signal, the commands including an ON command and an OFF command, the apparatus comprising:
a base unit adjacent to the television receiver, the base unit comprising proximity sensing means for sensing when a person is within a predetermined range forward of the television screen, transmitting means for transmitting triggering signals, and control means responsive to the proximity sensing means and predetermined criteria for actuating the transmitting means to transmit an ON triggering signals corresponding to the ON command and an OFF triggering signal corresponding to the OFF command; and,
a slave unit remote from the television receiver, the slave unit comprising receiving means for receiving the triggering signals from the base unit, transmitting means for transmitting the ON and OFF commands encoded on the line of sight carrier signal to the signal sensor of the television receiver, and control means for actuating the transmitting means in response to a received ON or OFF triggering signal to transmit the corresponding ON or OFF command.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which:
the base unit comprises indicator means for generating an audible or visual warning signal; and,
the control means of the base unit comprise a digital processor programmed to actuate the indicator means to generate the warning signal when the proximity sensing means sense the presence of the person within range, and actuate the transmitting means of the base unit to transmit the OFF triggering signal if the person remains in range for more than a predetermined period of time.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which the digital processor of the base unit is programmed to actuate the transmitting means of the base unit to transmit the ON triggering signal after a predetermined OFF period of time following transmission of the OFF triggering signal if the proximity sensing means do not sense the presence of a person within the range.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 in which the digital processor of the base unit is programmed to repeatedly transmit the OFF triggering signal during the OFF period whereby the television receiver cannot be kept on with manual controls or a remote control associated with the receiver during the OFF period.
9. The apparatus of claim 7 in which:
the predetermined criteria include at least the number of times the presence of the person is detected in the predetermined range; and,
the digital process is programmed to record a count corresponding to the number of times the presence of the person is detected in the predetermined range and to reduce the predetermined period of time before the OFF signal is transmitted in response to the record count.
10. The apparatus of claim 5 in which the transmitting means of the base unit and the receiving means of the slave unit are adapted for wireless transmission and receipt of triggering signal via an omnidirectional signal carrier.