Author: claimsbot

1. A closure device for a receptacle, arranged to be attached to the receptacle, the device comprising at least one first cavity for additive, and at least one second cavity, where the at least one first cavity and the at least one second cavity can be opened individually by respective opening mechanisms therefor which are integrated in the device and can be influenced from outside of the device, the opening mechanism for the at least one first cavity comprising a plunger part with one or more plungers, wherein each plunger can be influenced individually, the plunger part comprising a ring and the one or more plungers projecting downwards from the ring into the at least one first cavity, wherein the ring is made of at least one of a flexible and an elastic material and is corrugated with alternating raised portions and depressions, and the one or more plungers project down from the raised portions of the ring and are integral with the ring.
2. The closure device of claim 1, wherein the at least one second cavity is intended for access to a beverage.
3. The closure device of claim 1, wherein in the one or more plungers there is provided at least one cavity constituting one of the first and second cavities.
4. The closure device of claim 1, including a storage part with at least one cavity.
5. The closure device of claim 1, including a drinking mechanism connected to the at least one second cavity.
6. The closure device of claim 5, wherein the drinking mechanism includes a rotatable part.
7. The closure device of claim 1, wherein the additive is one of a flavour additive, a vitamin additive, effervescing powder, and a medicine.
8. The closure device of claim 1, wherein the additive is one of a fluid, a powder and a solid body.
9. The closure device of claim 1, comprising a plurality of plungers projecting downwardly from the raised portions of the ring.

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. A electronic transaction network operable to find a pathway to complete an electronic data exchange for a prepaid transaction account, the network comprising:
an intermediary node, in electronic communication with a transaction point node where transaction information is input, and a plurality of processing nodes that can communicate with an account provider node that administers the prepaid transaction account,
wherein the intermediary node receives transaction data comprising an account identifier from the transaction point node, and identifies one or more of the processing nodes that can form part of the pathway, where said pathway comprises the transaction point node, the intermediary node, at least one of the processing nodes, and the account provider node, and
wherein the intermediary node finds the processing node that forms the pathway at a highest transaction commission when more than one of the processor nodes can form part of the pathway.
2. The electronic transaction network of claim 1, wherein the finding of the processing node that forms the pathway at a highest transaction commission for the intermediary node comprises receiving from each of the processing nodes a bid comprising a sales commission and a processor fee to form the pathway, and calculating the transaction commission by multiplying the sales commission by a prepaid transaction amount for the transaction account to determine a relative amount, and subtracting the relative amount to the fixed amount to determine the transaction commission.
3. The electronic transaction network of claim 1, wherein the identification of the one or more processor nodes that can form part of the pathway comprises the intermediary node polling the plurality of processor nodes to determine whether they form at least part of the pathway to the account provider node.
4. The electronic transaction network of claim 1, wherein the intermediary node accesses a database with information about the plurality of processor nodes to identify the one or more processing nodes that can form part of the pathway.
5. A computer system for determining a pathway to complete an electronic data exchange for a prepaid transaction account, the system comprising:
an intermediary node, in electronic communication with a transaction point node and a plurality of processing nodes that can communicate with an account provider node that administers the prepaid transaction account;
wherein the intermediary node polls the plurality of the processing nodes with a message comprising an identity of the account provider node and transaction size data, and
wherein the intermediary node receives cost data comprising commission data and fee data from the processing nodes, and calculates a processing cost for each of the processing nodes using the cost data, and
wherein the intermediary node selects the processing node having a highest transaction commission for inclusion in the pathway comprising the transaction point node, the intermediary node, the selected processing node, and the account provider node.
6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein determining the highest transaction commission comprises identifying a commission rate for each of the processing nodes and multiplying the commission rate by a transaction amount from the transaction size data to calculate a commission amount, and subtracting the commission amount from a processor fee from the fee data to calculate the transaction commission.
7. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of processing nodes comprises a second group of processing nodes that is separate from a first group of processing nodes that is not considered by the intermediary node for inclusion in the pathway.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the processing nodes are grouped into the first and second group of processing nodes by determining if a minimum number of transaction requirement has been satisfied for each of the processing nodes, and grouping the processing nodes that have met the requirement in the first group, and grouping the processing nodes that have not met the requirement in the second group.
9. A computer network for fulfilling transaction requirements for assigning a prepaid transaction account to an account user, the network comprising:
an intermediary node that receives account data associating the account with the user, and a prepaid amount associated with the account, from a transaction point node;
wherein the intermediary node polls processor nodes that can communicate with an account provider node administering the account, and selects the processor node that can establish a pathway to fulfill the transaction requirements for a highest transaction commission for the intermediary node, and
wherein the intermediary node calculates a fulfillment cost comprising the processor cost and an intermediary cost for fulfilling the transaction requirements.
10. The computer network of claim 9, wherein the intermediary node sends fulfillment data to the transaction point node comprising a settlement amount, and wherein said settlement amount is the prepaid amount minus a merchant commission.
11. The computer network of claim 10, wherein the intermediary node calculates an account provider amount by subtracting the fulfillment cost from the settlement about and sends the account provider amount to the account provider node.
12. The computer network of claim 11, wherein the intermediary node sends the processor cost to the selected processor node after receiving the settlement amount from the transaction point node.
13. A method of finding a transaction processor to process a transaction that uses a prepaid transaction account associated with a prepaid transaction card, the method comprising:
reading an account identifier from the prepaid transaction card, and sending the identifier to a transaction processing intermediary;
identifying, based on the identifier, one or more transaction processors that can process the transaction; and
determining the transaction processor that can process the transaction at a highest transaction commission to the intermediary when more than one of the transaction processors can process the transaction.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining the transaction processor that can process the transaction at the highest transaction commission to the intermediary comprises:
receiving from each transaction processor a sales commission rate and a processing fee for completing the transaction; and
determining the cost of the transaction for each transaction processor, wherein the cost determination comprises multiplying the sales commission rate by a transaction amount to determine a commission amount, and subtracting the commission amount from the processing fee.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the method comprises polling an plurality of the transaction processors to determine whether they can process the transaction.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifying of the transaction processors comprises searching a database comprising information about transaction processors and identifying the transaction processors listed in the database that are able to process the transaction.
17. A method of selecting a transaction processor for processing a transaction that uses a prepaid transaction account associated with a prepaid transaction card, the method comprising:
requesting bids from a plurality of the transaction processors, wherein the request includes identification of a card issuer, and a transaction amount;
receiving from the transaction processors that can process the transaction, processor offers comprising a sale commission rate and a fee for processing the transaction, wherein a processor cost is calculated for each transaction processor that sent an offer; and
selecting the transaction processor with a highest processing commission to the processing of the transaction.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the calculation of the processing commission comprises multiplying the sales commission rate by the transaction amount to determine a commission amount, and subtracting the commission amount from the fee for processing the transaction.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the method comprises sorting the plurality of transaction processors into a first group of transaction processors and a second group of transaction processors, and wherein the plurality of transaction processors from which the bids are requested is the second group of transaction processors.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the sorting of the plurality of transaction processors comprises:
determining if a minimum number of transactions requirement has been satisfied for each of the transaction processors; and
identifying the transaction processors that have met the requirement with the first group of transaction processors, and identifying the transaction processors that have not met the requirement with the second group of transaction processors.
21. A method of settling a transaction for the purchase of a prepaid transaction card between a merchant who sold the card and an issuer who issued the card, the method comprising:
sending to a processing intermediary an account identifier associated with the prepaid transaction card, and a prepaid account balance for the card;
selecting a transaction processor to process the transaction through an auction, wherein the selected transaction processor bids a highest transaction commission in the auction;
sending a merchant amount from the merchant to the processing intermediary, wherein the merchant amount is the prepaid account balance minus a merchant commission; and
sending a issuer amount from the intermediary to the issuer, wherein the issuer amount is the merchant amount minus the processor cost and an intermediary cost, and wherein the intermediary sends the processor cost to the selected transaction processor.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the issuer amount is a fixed percentage of the prepaid account balance.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the merchant commission is a fixed percentage of the prepaid account balance.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the auction for the selecting of the selected transaction processor comprises a sealed auction, a Dutch auction, or an English auction.

1. A mold clamping device comprising:
a stationary platen that supports a stationary mold;
a movable platen that supports a movable mold;
a plurality of tie bars with ends that are detachably connected to the stationary platen and other ends that extend through the movable platen;
mold opening and closing means that moves the movable platen toward and away from the stationary platen so that the movable mold opens from and closes on the stationary mold;
tie bar connecting means that detachably connects each of the plurality of tie bars to the movable platen by having a split nut engaged with an engagement portion formed in each of the tie bars; and
a mold clamping cylinder that is provided around a tie bar insertion through hole in the movable platen and propels the movable platen toward the stationary platen side, using the split nut in the tie bar connecting means as a reaction point, so as to generate a mold clamping force, wherein
the mold clamping cylinder includes a secondary piston that defines, out of two chambers in front and in rear defined by a primary piston that abuts against the split nut, the chamber positioned on the stationary platen side into a front chamber and a rear chamber, and
the secondary piston integrally operates with the primary piston at a time of a mold contact and a mold clamping, but makes a movement relative to the primary piston at a time of a mold release.
2. The mold clamping device according to claim 1, wherein
the mold opening and closing means stops the movable platen at a position, immediately before the movable mold comes in contact with the stationary mold.
3. A molding method using the mold clamping device according to claim 2, wherein
after the mold opening and closing means moves the movable platen toward the stationary platen side and stops the movable platen at the position, immediately before the movable mold comes in contact with the stationary mold, the split nut in the tie bar connecting means is closed so that each of the plurality of tie bars is connected to the movable platen,
the movable platen is then propelled by an operation of the mold clamping cylinder so that the mold contact and the mold clamping are performed, and
when a predetermined period of cooling time has passed after completion of an injection process, a supply-discharge mode for pressure oil to and from the mold clamping cylinder is changed so that the mold release is performed with a piston stroke larger than a piston stroke used at the time of the mold contact and the mold clamping.

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. A method for determining suspect entities engaged in financial transactions, comprising the steps of:
a) selecting a focus entity F and a plurality of peripheral entities, each peripheral entity having one or more financial transaction with F within a period of time T;
b) partitioning the period of time T into a plurality of time intervals;
c) generating a unifocused directed graph for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals, each directed graph consisting of a focus node, a plurality of peripheral nodes, and edges between the focus node and the peripheral nodes, the focus node representing F, each peripheral node representing a peripheral entity having at least one directed financial transaction of said one or more directed financial transactions with F within the time interval, each edge having a weight, said weight being a function of the at least one directed financial transaction between F and the peripheral node within the time interval;
d) determining, from the directed graphs or from a representation of the directed graphs, whether any of said edges are out-of-norm edges, said determining including applying edge-selection criteria to the weights associated with the edges of the directed graphs; and
e) if any of said edges are so determined to be out-of-norm edges then identifying at least one potential suspect entity from the out-of-norm edges, followed by deriving at least one suspect entity from the at least one potential suspect entity.
2. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising prior to performing step a): identifying the one or more directed financial transactions which are recorded in, or managed by, a database of a financial institution.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the partitioning in step b) includes taking into account the distribution over time within the period of time T of the one or more directed financial transactions.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the partitioning in step b) does not include taking into account the distribution over time within the period of time T of the one or more directed financial transactions.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the time intervals of the plurality of time intervals resulting from step b) are constant time intervals.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the time intervals of the plurality of time intervals resulting from step b) are variable time intervals.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the function in step c) is proportional to the sum of the directed financial transactions between F and the peripheral node within the time interval.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the function in step c) is a linear function of said sum.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the function in step c) is a nonlinear function of said sum.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining in step d) is from the representation of the directed graphs, and wherein said representation is a matrix representation of the directed graphs.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining at least one suspect entity in step e) includes determining whether the at least one potential suspect entity includes at least one valid entity, and if it is so determined that the at least one potential suspect entity includes the at least one valid entity then the at least one suspect entity consists of the at least one potential suspect entity exclusive of the at least one valid entity.
12. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising after step e) the step of:
f) generating a report that includes those transactions of the one or more directed financial transactions which the suspect entities determined in step e) have participated in.
13. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising prior to step a) the step of: selecting a plurality of focus entities from a database of directed financial transactions, wherein steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed for each focus entity of the plurality of focus entities, and wherein F represents said each focus entity of the plurality of focus entities for which steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed.
14. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising after performing step e) at level 1: performing steps a), b), c), d), and e) to level L for each suspect entity determined in step e) at levels 1, 2, . . . L\u22121, wherein F represents said each suspect entity for which steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed, and wherein L is at least 2.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein L=2.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein L exceeds 2.
17. A computer system having a processor, said processor adapted to execute computer readable program code, said computer readable program code comprising an algorithm for determining suspect entities engaged in financial transactions, said algorithm adapted to execute the steps of:
a) selecting a focus entity F and a plurality of peripheral entities, each peripheral entity having one or more financial transaction with F within a period of time T;
b) partitioning the period of time T into a plurality of time intervals;
c) generating a unifocused directed graph for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals, each directed graph consisting of a focus node, a plurality of peripheral nodes, and edges between the focus node and the peripheral nodes, the focus node representing F, each peripheral node representing a peripheral entity having at least one directed financial transaction of said one or more directed financial transactions with F within the time interval, each edge having a weight, said weight being a function of the at least one directed financial transaction between F and the peripheral node within the time interval;
d) determining, from the directed graphs or from a representation of the directed graphs, whether any of said edges are out-of-norm edges, said determining including applying edge-selection criteria to the weights associated with the edges of the directed graphs; and
e) if any of said edges are so determined to be out-of-norm edges then identifying at least one potential suspect entity from the out-of-norm edges, followed by deriving at least one suspect entity from the at least one potential suspect entity.
18. The computer system of claim 17, said algorithm further adapted to execute prior to step a) the step of: identifying the one or more directed financial transactions which are recorded in, or managed by, a database of a financial institution.
19. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the partitioning in step b) includes taking into account the distribution over time within the period of time T of the one or more directed financial transactions.
20. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the partitioning in step b) does not include taking into account the distribution over time within the period of time T of the one or more directed financial transactions.
21. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the time intervals of the plurality of time intervals resulting from step b) are constant time intervals.
22. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the time intervals of the plurality of time intervals resulting from step b) are variable time intervals.
23. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the function in step c) is proportional to the sum of the directed financial transactions between F and the peripheral node within the time interval.
24. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the function in step c) is a linear function of said sum.
25. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the function in step c) is a nonlinear function of said sum.
26. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the determining in step d) is from the representation of the directed graphs, and wherein said representation is a matrix representation of the directed graphs.
27. The computer system of claim 17, wherein said determining at least one suspect entity in step e) includes determining whether the at least one potential suspect entity includes at least one valid entity, and if it is so determined that the at least one potential suspect entity includes the at least one valid entity then the at least one suspect entity consists of the at least one potential suspect entity exclusive of the at least one valid entity.
28. The computer system of claim 17, said algorithm further adapted to execute after step e) the step of:
f) generating a report that includes those transactions of the one or more directed financial transactions which the suspect entities determined in step e) have participated in.
29. The computer system of claim 17, said algorithm further adapted to execute prior to step a) the step of: selecting a plurality of focus entities from a database of directed financial transactions, wherein steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed for each focus entity of the plurality of focus entities, and wherein F represents said each focus entity of the plurality of focus entities for which steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed.
30. The computer system of claim 17, said algorithm further adapted to execute after step e) at level 1: executing steps a), b), c), d), and e) to level L for each suspect entity determined in step e) at levels 1, 2, . . . L\u22121, wherein F represents said each suspect entity for which steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed, and wherein L is at least 2.
31. The computer system of claim 30, wherein L=2.
32. The computer system of claim 30, wherein L exceeds 2.
33. A computer program product, comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code comprising an algorithm for determining suspect entities engaged in financial transactions, said algorithm adapted to execute the steps of:
a) selecting a focus entity F and a plurality of peripheral entities, each peripheral entity having one or more financial transaction with F within a period of time T;
b) partitioning the period of time T into a plurality of time intervals;
c) generating a unifocused directed graph for each time interval of the plurality of time intervals, each directed graph consisting of a focus node, a plurality of peripheral nodes, and edges between the focus node and the peripheral nodes, the focus node representing F, each peripheral node representing a peripheral entity having at least one directed financial transaction of said one or more directed financial transactions with F within the time interval, each edge having a weight, said weight being a function of the at least one directed financial transaction between F and the peripheral node within the time interval;
d) determining, from the directed graphs or from a representation of the directed graphs, whether any of said edges are out-of-norm edges, said determining including applying edge-selection criteria to the weights associated with the edges of the directed graphs; and
e) if any of said edges are so determined to be out-of-norm edges then identifying at least one potential suspect entity from the out-of-norm edges, followed by deriving at least one suspect entity from the at least one potential suspect entity.
34. The computer program product of claim 33, said algorithm further adapted to execute prior to step a) the step of: identifying the one or more directed financial transactions which are recorded in, or managed by, a database of a financial institution.
35. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the partitioning in step b) includes taking into account the distribution over time within the period of time T of the one or more directed financial transactions.
36. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the partitioning in step b) does not include taking into account the distribution over time within the period of time T of the one or more directed financial transactions.
37. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the time intervals of the plurality of time intervals resulting from step b) are constant time intervals.
38. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the time intervals of the plurality of time intervals resulting from step b) are variable time intervals.
39. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the function in step c) is proportional to the sum of the directed financial transactions between F and the peripheral node within the time interval.
40. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the function in step c) is a linear function of said sum.
41. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the function in step c) is a nonlinear function of said sum.
42. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the determining in step d) is from the representation of the directed graphs, and wherein said representation is a matrix representation of the directed graphs.
43. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein said determining at least one suspect entity in step e) includes determining whether the at least one potential suspect entity includes at least one valid entity, and if it is so determined that the at least one potential suspect entity includes the at least one valid entity then the at least one suspect entity consists of the at least one potential suspect entity exclusive of the at least one valid entity.
44. The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising after step e) the step of:
f) generating a report that includes those transactions of the one or more directed financial transactions which the suspect entities determined in step e) have participated in.
45. The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising prior to step a) the step of:
selecting a plurality of focus entities from a database of directed financial transactions, wherein steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed for each focus entity of the plurality of focus entities, and wherein F represents said each focus entity of the plurality of focus entities for which steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed.
46. The computer program product of claim 33, said algorithm further adapted to execute after step e) at level 1: executing steps a), b), c), d), and e) to level L for each suspect entity determined in step e) at levels 1, 2, . . . L\u22121, wherein F represents said each suspect entity for which steps a), b), c), d), and e) are performed, and wherein L is at least 2.
47. The computer program product of claim 46, wherein L=2.
48. The computer program product of claim 46, wherein L exceeds 2.