Author: claimsbot

We claim:

1. A toy system comprising:
a first body;
at least one accessory having an activation feature;
at least one first mechanism adapted to alter the first body; and
a first sensor adapted to sense the activation feature and to activate selectively the at least one first mechanism when the activation feature is sensed.
2. The toy system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is mounted relative to the body and the body has a support adapted to support the accessory with the activation feature sensed by the sensor.
3. The toy system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of different ones of the at least one accessory, the first sensor being adapted to detect the different accessories, the toy system further comprising a controller coupled to the mechanism assembly and to the sensor, and adapted to control operation of the mechanism assembly differently when the sensor detects different accessories.
4. The toy system of claim 1, wherein the first body further comprises a first body element and a second body element, and the first mechanism is driven by a motor assembly and adapted to move the first body element relative to the second body element, wherein the motor assembly is controlled by the sensor.
5. The toy system of claim 4, further comprising a controller responsive to the relative position of the first and second body elements and adapted to control operation of the motor assembly in a manner corresponding to the position of the first body element relative to the second body element.
6. The toy system of claim 1, wherein the at least one accessory forms a second body and includes at least one second mechanism adapted to alter the second body.
7. The toy system of claim 6, wherein the accessory has a second sensor adapted to sense activation of the at least one first mechanism and to activate the at least one second mechanism when the activation of the at least one first mechanism is sensed.
8. The toy system of claim 1, wherein the body has at least one chamber having an outwardly opening aperture and an extensible member supported in the chamber and adapted to be urged through the aperture by the at least one first mechanism.
9. A toy comprising:
a body including first and second body elements, the first and second body elements being movable relative to each other and the second body element having a characteristic that is changeable;
a drive element;
a sensor mounted relative to the body and adapted to be activated by a user;
a first mechanism activated by the sensor when the sensor is activated and mounted relative to the first body element and the drive element, the first mechanism being adapted to move the drive element relative to the second body element, and to move the second body element relative to the first body element during movement of the drive element; and
a second mechanism mounted relative to the second body element, adapted to perform a function on the characteristic of the second body element in response to movement of the drive element.
10. The toy of claim 9, further comprising an accessory wherein the sensor is activated by manipulation of the accessory relative to the sensor.
11. The toy of claim 10, wherein the body has a support adapted to support the accessory and the sensor is activated by placement of the accessory in the support.
12. The toy of claim 9, wherein the body has at least one chamber having an outwardly opening aperture and an extensible member supported in the chamber and adapted to move through the aperture.
13. The toy of claim 12, wherein the second mechanism is adapted to urge the extensible member through the aperture.
14. A toy comprising:
a body having a first body element and a second body element;
a first mechanism mounted relative to the body and having a plurality of operative states; and
a second mechanism configured to perform a first function corresponding to the state of the first mechanism.
15. The toy of claim 14, wherein at least one of the operative states moves the first body element to a first position relative to the second body element.
16. The toy of claim 14, wherein the first mechanism is adapted to move the first body element to a second position, and the second mechanism is configured to perform a second function when the first body element is moved to the second position.
17. The toy of claim 16, further comprising a controller adapted to select a sound file from a plurality of sound files in response to the first body element position.
18. The toy of claim 14, further comprising a sensor mounted relative to the body and adapted to be activated by a user to control the first mechanism.
19. The toy of claim 18, further comprising an accessory, wherein the sensor is activated by manipulation of the accessory relative to the sensor.
20. The toy of claim 14, further comprising a motor assembly adapted to drive the first mechanism and a controller configured to control operation of the motor assembly based on the position of the first body element relative to the second body element.
21. The toy of claim 14, wherein the body has an aperture and houses an extensible member supported in the body that is urged through the aperture by the second mechanism.
22. A toy system comprising:
a body having a plurality of body elements, wherein at least one first body element has an inner chamber and an outwardly extending aperture;
an extensible member supported relative to the first body element; and
a body-altering assembly adapted to urge selectively the extensible member through the aperture while rotating the extensible member.
23. The toy system of claim 22, further comprising a sensor mounted relative to the body, coupled to the body-altering assembly, and adapted to be activated by a user, the body-altering assembly being activated when the sensor is activated by a user.
24. The toy system of claim 23, wherein the body-altering assembly includes a motor assembly adapted to move the first body element relative to a second body element, wherein the motor assembly is controlled by the sensor.
25. The toy system of claim 24, further comprising a controller responsive to the relative position of the first and second body elements and adapted to control operation of the motor assembly in a manner corresponding to the position of the first body element relative to the second body element.
26. The toy system of claim 23, further comprising an accessory adapted to be manipulated in a given manner by a user, wherein the sensor is activated when the accessory is manipulated in the given manner.
27. The toy system of claim 26, further comprising a plurality of different ones of the accessories, the sensor being adapted to detect the different accessories, the toy system further comprising a controller coupled to the body-altering assembly and to the sensor, and adapted to control operation of the body-altering assembly differently when the sensor detects different accessories.
28. A toy comprising:
a body including first and second body elements, the first and second body elements being moveable relative to each other and the second body element having a characteristic that is changeable;
a drive element;
a plurality of different accessories;
a sensor mounted relative to the body and adapted to detect the plurality of different accessories;
a first mechanism activated by the sensor when the sensor is activated and mounted relative to the first body element and the drive element, the first mechanism being adapted to move the drive element relative to the second body, and to move the second body element relative to the first body element during movement of the drive element;
a controller coupled to the first mechanism and to the sensor, and adapted to control operation of the first mechanism differently when the sensor detects the different accessories; and
a second mechanism mounted relative to the second body element, adapted to change the characteristic of the second body element in response to movement of the drive element.
29. A toy comprising:
a body including at least a first body element having a characteristic that is changeable, the body further having a chamber with an outwardly opening aperture;
an extensible member supported relative to the first body element; and
a first mechanism mounted relative to the first body element and adapted to perform a function upon the characteristic by urging the extensible member through the aperture.
30. The toy of claim 29, further comprising a second mechanism mounted relative to a second body element and adapted to move a drive element relative to the second body element, wherein the drive element drives the first mechanism.
31. The toy of claim 30, wherein the second body element is adapted to rotate the drive element.
32. The toy of claim 31, wherein the first mechanism rotates in tandem with the drive element such that the extensible member alternately winds and unwinds, wherein unwinding urges the extensible member through the aperture during rotation of the first member.

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 pump assembly for dough-like material comprising:
a progressing cavity pump assembly having an inlet and an outlet;
roll feeder means having first and second side-by-side, counter-rotating rollers and a discharge, the roll feeder means discharge being adapted to deliver dough-like material, under pressure, to the pump assembly inlet.
2. The pump of claim 1 wherein the inlet of said pump assembly comprises screw feeder means.
3. The pump of claim 1 wherein the pump assembly comprises progressing cavity pump means and screw feeder means.
4. The pump of claim 1 wherein the pump assembly outlet comprises extruder means.
5. The pump of claim 1 wherein the first and second roll feeder means rollers are spaced from each other to define an input nip and further comprising hopper means adapted to contain dough-like material at the nip.
6. In a pump assembly for viscous food dough of the type having a roll feeder for delivering said dough, under pressure, to a pump, the improvement wherein the pump comprises a progressing cavity pump.
7. The pump assembly of claim 6 further comprising extruder means.
8. The pump assembly of claim 6 wherein the improvement further comprises screw feeder means interconnecting the roll feeder and progressing cavity pump.
9. A pump and extruder combination for dough-like material comprising:
a progressing cavity pump having an inlet and an outlet;
a screw feeder adapted to deliver dough-like material to the progressing cavity pump; and,
extruder means operatively connected to the outlet of the progressing cavity pump.

1. A method for causing generation of calibration data for a wireless network wherein position determination of a handset is performed, the network including a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) and a Position Determination Device (PDD), the method comprising:
receiving a phone call from the handset via the MSC;
sending a first position request message to the PDD in response to the received phone call;
receiving a position response message from the PDD;
sending a second position request message to the PDD in response to the same received phone call and the received position response message;
continuously sending a plurality of subsequent position request messages to the PDD in response to the same received phone call;
terminating the sending of a plurality of subsequent position request messages, when a termination trigger is received from the MSC; and
sending a call termination message to the MSC in response to the received termination trigger.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the generation of output data for use in network calibration.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the termination trigger is a call termination message from the MSC.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the termination trigger is release of the received phone call.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a synthesized audio feedback.
6. A method for causing generation of calibration data in a wireless network including a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), and a Position Determination Device (PDD) to determine position of a handset, the method comprising:
receiving a trigger from the MSC;
sending a position request message to the PDD in response to the received trigger;
receiving a position request response message from the PDD;
continuously sending subsequent position request messages to the PDD in response to the same received trigger, until a termination command is received;
terminating the sending subsequent position request messages, when the termination command is received; and
causing the generation of output data for use in network calibration.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the trigger is generated by a call origination message from the MSC.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the trigger is generated by a received call from the handset.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating a synthesized audio feedback.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein the termination command is a call termination message from the MSC.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending a call termination message to the MSC in response to the received termination command.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the termination occurs when the received call from the handset is released.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending a call termination message to the MSC upon the release of the call origination message from the MSC.
14. The method of claim 6, wherein the termination command is generated after a predetermined number of subsequent position request messages are sent to the PDD.
15. A system for causing generation of calibration data for a wireless network wherein position determination of a handset is performed, the network including a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) and a Position Determination Device (PDD) comprising:
means for receiving a phone call from the handset via the MSC;
means for sending a first position request message to the PDD in response to the received phone call;
means for receiving a position response message from the PDD;
means for sending a second position request message to the PDD in response to the same received phone call and the received position response message;
means for continuously sending a plurality of subsequent position request messages to the PDD in response to the same received phone call;
means for terminating the sending of a plurality of subsequent position request messages, when a termination trigger is received from the MSC; and
means for sending a call termination message to the MSC in response to the received termination trigger.
16. The system of claim 15, further comprising means for causing the generation of output data for use in network calibration.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the termination trigger is a call termination message from the MSC.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the termination trigger is release of the received phone call.
19. The method of claim 15, further comprising generating a synthesized audio feedback.
20. A system for causing generation of calibration data in a wireless network including a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), and a Position Determination Device (PDD) to determine position of a handset comprising:
means for receiving a trigger from the MSC;
means for sending a position request message to the PDD in response to the received trigger;
means for receiving a position request response message from the PDD;
means for continuously sending subsequent position request messages to the PDD in response to the same received trigger, until a termination command is received;
means for terminating the sending subsequent position request messages, when the termination command is received; and
means for causing the generation of output data for use in network calibration.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein the trigger is generated by a call origination message from the MSC.
22. The system of claim 20, wherein the trigger is generated by a received call from the handset.
23. The system of claim 22, further comprising generating a synthesized audio feedback.
24. The system of claim 20, wherein the termination command is a call termination message from the MSC.
25. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for sending a call termination message to the MSC in response to the received termination command.
26. The system of claim 23, wherein the termination occurs when the received call from the handset is released.
27. The system of claim 26, further comprising means for sending a call termination message to the MSC upon the release of the call origination message from the MSC.
28. The system of claim 20, wherein the termination command is generated after a predetermined number of subsequent position request messages are sent to the PDD.

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, comprising:
detecting identification means located within an area;
identifying a person associated with the identification means;
determining if the person is a person of interest;
notifying a user that the person of interest is located in the area; and
wherein a person of interest further comprises a person with whom the user is scheduled to attend a future event or a person in a contact list associated with the user.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification means further comprises a self-powered Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of identifying a person associated with the identification means further comprises:
accessing a remote directory;
locating a record in the remote directory that is associated with the identification means; and
reading identification data that identifies the person from the record in the remote directory.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the person is a person of interest further comprises:
accessing a user calendar; and
determining that the person is a person of interest if the person is listed in the user calendar as being scheduled to attend an upcoming event that is scheduled on the user calendar.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the person is a person of interest further comprises:
accessing a user contact list; and
determining that the person is a person of interest if the person is listed in the user contact list.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the area further comprises an area implicitly defined by range within which the detection means is able to detect the identification means.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the area further comprises an area within fifty (50) feet of the user.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the area further comprises a same building in which the user is located.
9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising accessing a web site associated with the person if the person is a person of interest, the web site including one or more of the following: personal information related to the person of interest; information related to the work of the person of interest; documents related to the person of interest.
10. One or more computer-readable media having executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, implement the following steps:
receiving a signal from a device associated with a person indicating that the device is located within a certain range of a user;
identifying the person with whom the device is associated;
determining if the person is scheduled to attend a future event with the user; and
providing a user notification that the person is located within the certain range of the user.
11. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the certain range further comprises fifty (50) feet.
12. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the certain range further comprises a same room in which the user is situated.
13. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the certain range further comprises a same building in which the user is situated.
14. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the device further comprises one of the following devices: a powered Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag; a Bluetooth-compatible electronic device; an electronic device configured to transmit infrared (IR) signals.
15. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the determining if the person is scheduled to attend a future event with the user further comprises accessing a user calendar to determine if the person is scheduled to attend an event listed on the user calendar.
16. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the identifying the person with whom the device is associated further comprises:
obtaining a device identifier from the device;
providing the device identifier to a remote a directory that stores information that relates persons with devices; and
determining the person that is associated with the device having the device identifier.
17. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, further comprising providing an approximate position of the person of interest relative to the user.
18. A system, comprising:
detection means configured to detect a remote identification device;
identification means configured to identify a person associated with the remote identification device;
means to determine whether the person is a person of interest; and
notification means configured to notify a user when the person of interest is in proximity to the user.
19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein:
a person of interest further comprises a person scheduled to attend an upcoming event with the user; and
the means to determine whether a person is a person of interest further comprises a user calendar that identifies upcoming events scheduled for the user and attendees scheduled to attend the upcoming events.
20. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the identification means further comprises the person’s name stored on the remote identification device.