Author: claimsbot

1. An airbag module comprising:
a housing with a housing recess and a housing opening;
an inflator;
an airbag located at least partly in the housing recess, the airbag having an opening therein for receiving the inflator, an elastic reinforcing member that is attached to or integral with the airbag and extends around the periphery of the opening in the airbag for receiving the inflator, the reinforcing member having an external periphery that is larger than an internal periphery of the housing opening and being configured such that the reinforcing member can be deformed and passed from the housing recess through the housing opening and then elastically return to a non-deformed state, the reinforcing member being located adjacent to an exterior wall of the housing such that the housing opening and the opening in the airbag for receiving the inflator are adjacent one another, the inflator being disposed within the housing opening and the opening in the airbag for receiving the inflator and inside a portion of the airbag that is located within the housing recess.
2. The airbag module according to claim 1, wherein the inflator has at least one projection located at a first end of the inflator and the reinforcing member is arranged between the exterior wall of the housing and the at least one projection located on the inflator.
3. The airbag module according to claim 1, wherein the housing opening, the reinforcing member and the opening in the airbag for receiving the inflator are essentially circular.
4. The airbag module according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing member includes a device for positioning the reinforcing member relative to the housing by bringing the device into engagement with a mating feature of the housing.
5. The airbag module according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing member is made of synthetic material and sewn, glued or welded to the airbag in the region of the opening in the airbag for receiving an inflator.
6. The airbag module according to claim 4, wherein the reinforcing member is made of synthetic material and sewn, glued or welded to the airbag in the region of the opening in the airbag for receiving an inflator.
7. The airbag module according to claim 1, wherein the airbag has at least one an opening therein for accommodating a fastening means of the inflator.
8. The airbag module according to claim 1, wherein the airbag has an opening therein for accommodating a fastening means of the inflator, the fastening means of the inflator extends through the opening in the airbag for accommodating the fastening means and a corresponding opening in the housing and is secured in place with regards to the housing.
9. The airbag module according to claim 8, wherein the fastening means comprises a locking device, a threaded fastening means or corresponding releasable or non-releasable fastening means.
10. The airbag module according to claim 1, wherein the airbag has an opening therein for accommodating a fastening means of the inflator, the fastening means comprising a threaded shaft that extends through the opening in the airbag for accommodating the fastening means and a corresponding opening in the housing and is secured in a threaded manner with a nut outside of the housing such that the inflator is secured in place with regards to the housing.
11. The airbag module according to claim 8, further comprising a positioning means located on the airbag in the region of the opening the airbag for accommodating the fastening means of the inflator, the positioning means securing the airbag with the housing at least in the region to the housing adjacent the opening the corresponding opening in the housing.
12. The airbag module according to claim 9, further comprising a positioning means located on the airbag in the region of the opening the airbag for accommodating the fastening means of the inflator, the positioning means securing the airbag with the housing at least in the region to the housing adjacent the opening the corresponding opening in the housing.
13. The airbag module according to claim 10, further comprising a positioning means located on the airbag in the region of the opening the airbag for accommodating the fastening means of the inflator, the positioning means securing the airbag with the housing at least in the region to the housing adjacent the opening the corresponding opening in the housing.
14. An airbag module comprising:
a housing with a housing recess and a housing opening;
an inflator having at one end thereof at least one projection and at an opposite end thereof a fastening means;
an airbag located at least partly in the housing recess, the airbag having an opening therein for receiving the inflator and an opening for accommodating the fastening means of the inflator, an elastic reinforcing member that is attached to or integral with the airbag and extends around the periphery of the opening in the airbag for receiving the inflator, the reinforcing member having an external periphery that is larger than an internal periphery of the housing opening and being configured such that the reinforcing member can be deformed and passed from the housing recess through the housing opening and then elastically return to a non-deformed state, the reinforcing member being located between an exterior wall of the housing and the at least one projection of the inflator such that the housing opening and the opening in the airbag for receiving the inflator are adjacent one another, the inflator being disposed within the housing opening and the opening in the airbag for receiving the inflator and inside a portion of the airbag that is located within the housing recess, the fastening means of the inflator extending through the opening in the airbag for accommodating the fastening means and a corresponding opening in the housing and is secured in place with regards to the housing.
15. The airbag module according to claim 14, wherein the fastening means comprises a threaded shaft that extends through the opening in the airbag for accommodating the fastening means and a corresponding opening in the housing and is secured in a threaded manner with a nut outside of the housing such that the inflator is secured in place with regards to the housing.
16. The airbag module according to claim 14, wherein the fastening means comprises a locking device, a threaded fastening means or corresponding releasable or non-releasable fastening means.
17. The airbag module according to claim 14, further comprising a positioning means located on the airbag in the region of the opening the airbag for accommodating the fastening means of the inflator, the positioning means securing the airbag with the housing at least in the region to the housing adjacent the opening the corresponding opening in the housing.
18. The airbag module according to claim 15, further comprising a positioning means located on the airbag in the region of the opening the airbag for accommodating the fastening means of the inflator, the positioning means securing the airbag with the housing at least in the region to the housing adjacent the opening the corresponding opening in the housing.
19. The airbag module according to claim 16, further comprising a positioning means located on the airbag in the region of the opening the airbag for accommodating the fastening means of the inflator, the positioning means securing the airbag with the housing at least in the region to the housing adjacent the opening the corresponding opening in the housing.
20. The airbag module according to claim 14, wherein the reinforcing member includes a device for positioning the reinforcing member relative to the housing by bringing the device into engagement with a mating feature of the housing.
21. The airbag module according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcing member includes a device for positioning the reinforcing member relative to the housing by bringing the device into engagement with a mating feature of the housing.
22. The airbag module according to claim 16, wherein the reinforcing member includes a device for positioning the reinforcing member relative to the housing by bringing the device into engagement with a mating feature of the housing.

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 camouflaging business-activity information in telemetry signals from a computer system, comprising:
monitoring telemetry signals from the computer system to obtain a time series containing a telemetry metric which provides business-activity information;
for each telemetry-metric value contained in the time series,
comparing the telemetry-metric value with a predetermined threshold level; and
if the telemetry-metric value is below the predetermined threshold level, generating artificial activity associated with the telemetry metric in the computer system, so that the artificial activity causes the telemetry-metric value to exceed the predetermined threshold level.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the telemetry metric can include:
load on a CPU;
IO traffic;
memory utilization; and
storage readwrite activity.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein by generating artificial activity associated with the telemetry metric, the method causes the telemetry-metric value to increase to a predetermined constant value.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the artificial activity is generated by running exerciser code on the computer system at a low-priority level.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising halting the execution of the exerciser code when user activity is detected.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed in a feedback and control loop.
7. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for camouflaging business-activity information in telemetry signals from a computer system, the method comprising:
monitoring telemetry signals from the computer system to obtain a time series containing a telemetry metric which provides business-activity information;
for each telemetry-metric value contained in the time series,
comparing the telemetry-metric value with a predetermined threshold level; and
if the telemetry-metric value is below the predetermined threshold level, generating artificial activity associated with the telemetry metric in the computer system, so that the artificial activity causes the telemetry-metric value to exceed the predetermined threshold level.
8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the telemetry metric can include:
load on a CPU;
IO traffic;
memory utilization; and
storage readwrite activity.
9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein by generating artificial activity associated with the telemetry metric, the method causes the telemetry-metric value to increase to a predetermined constant value.
10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the artificial activity is generated by running exerciser code on the computer system at a low-priority level.
11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises halting the execution of the exerciser code when user activity is detected.
12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the method is performed in a feedback and control loop.
13. An apparatus that camouflages business-activity information in telemetry signals from a computer system, comprising:
a monitoring mechanism configured to monitor telemetry signals from the computer system to obtain a time series containing a telemetry metric which provides business-activity information;
a comparison mechanism configured to compare each telemetry-metric value contained in the time series with a predetermined threshold level; and
a generating mechanism configured to generate artificial activity associated with the telemetry metric in the computer system, so that the artificial activity causes the telemetry-metric value to exceed the predetermined threshold level if the telemetry-metric value is below the predetermined threshold level.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the telemetry metric can include:
load on a CPU;
IO traffic;
memory utilization; and
storage readwrite activity.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the generating mechanism is further configured to cause the telemetry-metric value to increase to a predetermined constant value if the telemetry-metric value is below the predetermined threshold level.
16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the generating mechanism is configured to generate the artificial activity by running exerciser code on the computer system at a low-priority level.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the generating mechanism is configured to halt the execution of the exerciser code when user activity is detected.
18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the method is performed in a feedback and control loop.

1. A microfluidic system, comprising:
a cartridge including:
a first drum which has a first chamber, and
an adjustment device which is arranged to rotate the first drum about a mid-axis of the first drum and is configured to connect the first chamber to a second chamber in one or more of a fluid-conducting manner, a gas-conducting manner, and a particle-conducting manner, and

a pressure device configured to act upon at least one component with a pressure difference and is configured to transfer the component between the first chamber and second chamber.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pressure device is configured to be one or more of a pump and a pressure accumulator, the one or more of the pump and the pressure accumulator being connected by a pressure connection to the cartridge or being integrated into the cartridge.
3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the pressure accumulator stores the component and supplies the component to the first chamber or the second chamber under a pressure of the component.
4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the cartridge has a housing which is closed at an end of the housing by an adapter, the adapter having the pressure connection.
5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment device includes one or more of an electrically operated, a mechanically operated, and a pressure-operated actuator which one or more of rotates the first drum along the mid-axis and moves the first drum along the mid-axis.
6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the actuator has a shaft which is connected directly or indirectly to the first drum and is configured to rotate the first drum.
7. The system according to claim 5, wherein the adjustment device includes a first slope which cooperates with a second slope of the first drum and is configured to bring the first drum out of a first position, in which the first drum is in positive engagement with a housing of the cartridge in a direction of rotation about the mid-axis, into a second position along the mid-axis, in which the positive connection is cancelled and the first drum rotates about the mid-axis by virtue of the action of a restoring member or of a further actuator.
8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the actuator actuates the first slope to cooperate with the second slope.
9. The system according to claim 5, the first drum being one or more of preceded and followed by one or more of a second drum and a third drum with respect to the mid-axis, the actuator being configured to actuate the one or more of the second drum and the third drum to rotate the first drum.
10. The system according to claim 5, wherein the cartridge has a housing which is closed at an end of the housing by an adapter, the actuator being fastened to the adapter.
11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the adapter has a flexible diaphragm which can be actuated on a side by the actuator and which acts on another side upon one or more of the first drum, a second drum, and a third drum.
12. The system according to claim 1, the second chamber preceding or following the first drum with respect to the mid-axis and being formed in a second or a third drum.
13. The system according to claim 10, further comprising at least one further chamber configured to be acted upon by the pressure device with pressures different in each case from one another, the second chamber and the at least one further chamber being connected by a respective pressure connection in the adapter to the pressure device, or the second chamber and the at least one further chamber being connected by a single pressure connection in the adapter to the pressure device, the second chamber and the at least one further chamber being connected by a respective valve to the single pressure connection.
14. The system according to claim 5, wherein the pressure device drives the actuator.
15. The system according to claim 2, wherein the pressure accumulator stores the component and supplies the component to the first chamber or the second chamber under pressure of a fluidic aid which pressurizes the at least one component.
16. A method for operating a microfluidic system, comprising:
rotating a first drum, which comprises a first chamber, about a mid-axis of the first drum to connect the first chamber to a second chamber in one or more of a liquid-conducting manner, a gas-conducting manner, and a particle-conducting manner, and
acting upon at least one component with a pressure difference to transfer the component between the first chamber and the second chamber.

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 reflector apparatus for reflecting heat back downward upon a surface of heated asphalt, said apparatus comprising:
a mobile trailer comprising a frame and having a front, a rear, a bottom, and a top; at least one heat reflector attached to said bottom of said mobile trailer, wherein said heat reflector is manufactured of a heat reflective material, is dimensioned to cover a substantial portion of said bottom of said mobile trailer, and comprises a flat, sheet-like body and a pair of wings extending downward from said body and terminating at a pair of terminal edges;
wherein said at least one heat reflector is attached to said bottom of said mobile trailer such that said terminal edges of said wings are disposed proximate to the surface of the heated asphalt and define a plane that is substantially parallel to a plane formed by the surface of the heated asphalt.
2. The reflector apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said heat reflector is manufactured of aluminum and is removably attached to said bottom of said mobile trailer.
3. The reflector apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one means for adjusting a distance between said pair of terminal edges of said heat reflector and the surface of the heated asphalt.
4. The reflector apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said mobile trailer further comprises a pair of central wheels attached to said bottom of said mobile trailer and disposed substantially centrally between said front and said rear thereof, a pair of front caster wheels disposed proximate to said front of said mobile trailer and a pair of rear caster wheels disposed proximate to said rear of said mobile trailer.
5. The reflector apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein a weight of said mobile trailer is distributed substantially evenly between a front portion of said trailer in front of said drive wheels and a rear portion of said trailer behind said drive wheels, and
wherein said front caster wheel and said rear caster wheel are dimensioned and disposed such that said front and rear caster wheels do not contact the surface of heated asphalt when the surface of heated asphalt is substantially level.
6. The reflector apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a rear trailer hitch coupler mounted to said rear of said frame wherein said rear trailer hitch coupler comprises a hitch ball.
7. The reflector apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wings of said heat reflector are each disposed at an angle of between 30\xb0 and 60\xb0 relative to said body of said heat reflector.
8. A heat reflector kit for mounting on a mobile trailer comprising a frame having a front, a rear, a bottom and a top, to form a reflector apparatus for reflecting heat back downward upon a surface of heated asphalt, wherein said heat reflector kit comprises:
at least one heat reflector for attachment to said bottom of said mobile trailer, wherein said heat reflector is manufactured of a heat reflective material, is dimensioned to cover a substantial portion of said bottom of said mobile trailer, and comprises a flat, sheet-like body and a pair of wings extending downward from said body and terminating at a pair of terminal edges; and
means for removably attaching said at least one heat reflector to the bottom of the mobile trailer such that said terminal edges of said wings are disposed proximate to the surface of the heated asphalt and define a plane that is substantially parallel to a plane formed by the surface of the heated asphalt.
9. The heat reflector kit as claimed in claim 8 wherein said heat reflector is manufactured of aluminum.
10. The heat reflector kit as claimed in claim 8 further comprising means for adjusting a distance between said pair of terminal edges of said heat reflector and the surface of the heated asphalt.
11. The heat reflector kit as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of said wings of said heat reflector are each disposed at an angle of between 30\xb0 and 60\xb0 relative to said body of said heat reflector.
12. A reflector apparatus for reflecting heat back downward upon a surface of heated asphalt, said apparatus comprising:
a mobile trailer comprising a frame and having a front, a rear, a bottom, and a top;
at least one heat reflector attached to said bottom of said mobile trailer:
wherein said heat reflector is manufactured of a heat reflective material, is dimensioned to cover a substantial portion of said bottom of said mobile trailer, and comprises a flat, sheet-like body and a pair of wings extending downward from said body and terminating at a pair of terminal edges; and
wherein said at least one heat reflector is attached to said bottom of said mobile trailer such that said terminal edges of said wings are disposed proximate to the surface of the heated asphalt and define a plane that is substantially parallel to a plane formed by the surface of the heated asphalt;

an infrared chamber attached to said bottom of said mobile trailer, said infrared chamber having a bottom surface and shaped as a flattened rectangular prism, dimensioned to cover a substantial portion of said bottom of said mobile trailer, wherein said at least one heat reflector is removably attached to said bottom surface of said infrared chamber; and
a control box in electrical communication with said infrared chamber, said control box comprising controls for controlling a flow of fuel to said infrared chamber.
13. The reflector apparatus as claimed in claim 12 further comprising a plurality of C-shaped straps, wherein said plurality of C-shaped straps are dimensioned to extend from the terminal edges of the heat reflector to the top surface of the infrared chamber to removably attach said heat reflector to said bottom surface of said infrared chamber.