Author: claimsbot

1. A neural signal transmission system, comprising:
(a) a signal receiver operable to receive a neural signal comprising an action potential;
(b) an action potential detector operable to communicate with the signal receiver and detect when the action potential occurs; and
(c) a transmitter in communication with the action potential detector and operable to transmit an information signal indicating the time when the action potential occurs.
2. The neural signal transmission system of claim 1 wherein the signal receiver is a neural sensor selected from the group consisting of electrodes, magnetic field detectors, and chemical sensors.
3. The neural signal transmission system of claim 1 comprising a plurality of signal receivers operable to receive a plurality of neural signals, wherein each signal receiver is associated with one of a plurality of channels.
4. The neural signal transmission system of claim 3 wherein the transmitter is operable to transmit a header associated with the action potential, wherein the header indicates the channel associated with the neural signal comprising the detected action potential.
5. The neural signal transmission system of claim 1 wherein the action potential detector is operable to transmit a header associated with the action potential, wherein the header comprises a timestamp indicating a time when the action potential occurs.
6. The neural signal transmission system of claim 1 wherein the action potential detector comprises a memory for storing samples of the neural signal.
7. The neural signal transmission system of claim 6 wherein the stored samples are a predetermined number of samples including the action potential of the neural signal.
8. The neural signal transmission system of claim 7 wherein the header indicates a channel associated with the neural signal.
9. The neural signal transmission system of claim 6 wherein the action potential detector is operable to determine the absolute value of one of the samples of the neural signal.
10. The neural signal transmission system of claim 9 wherein the action potential detector is operable to compare the absolute value to a predetermined threshold value.
11. The neural signal transmission system of claim 10 wherein the action potential detector detects an action potential when the absolute value is greater than the predetermined threshold value.
12. The neural signal transmission system of claim 10 wherein the action potential detector detects a first action potential after a refractory period expires since a second action potential, wherein the second action potential occurs prior to the first action potential and on the same channel.
13. The neural signal transmission system of claim 1 comprising a conditioning unit operable to condition the neural signal.
14. The neural signal transmission system of claim 13 wherein condition is a function selected from the group consisting of amplify, filter, multiplex, and digitize.
15. The neural signal transmission system of claim 1 comprising a station operable to receive the information signal for controlling a device selected from the group consisting of an actuator, a prosthetic device, and a computer system.
16. A method for transmitting a neural signal, comprising:
(a) receiving a neural signal comprising an action potential;
(b) detecting when the action potential occurs; and
(c) transmitting an information signal indicating the time when the action potential occurs.
17. The method of claim 16 receiving a plurality of neural signals, wherein each signal receiver is associated with one of a plurality of channels.
18. The method of claim 16 comprising receiving a plurality of neural signals, wherein each signal receiver is associated with one of a plurality of channels.
19. The method of claim 18 comprising transmitting a header associated with the action potential, wherein the header indicates the channel associated with the neural signal comprising the detected action potential.
20. The method of claim 16 comprising transmitting a header associated with the action potential, wherein the header comprises a timestamp indicating a time when the action potential occurs.
21. The method of claim 16 comprising storing samples of the neural signal.
22. The method of claim 21 wherein the stored samples are a predetermined number of samples including the action potential of the neural signal.
23. The method of claim 22 wherein the header indicates a channel associated with the neural signal.
24. The method of claim 21 comprising determining the absolute value of one of the samples of the neural signal.
25. The method of claim 24 comprising comparing the absolute value to a predetermined threshold value.
26. The method of claim 25 comprising detecting an action potential when the absolute value is greater than the predetermined threshold value.
27. The method of claim 25 comprising detecting a first action potential after a refractory period expires since a second action potential, wherein the second action potential occurs prior to the first action potential and on the same channel.
28. The method of claim 16 comprising conditioning the neural signal.
29. The method of claim 28 wherein condition is a function selected from the group consisting of amplify, filter, multiplex, and digitize.
30. The method of claim 16 comprising receiving the information signal for controlling a device selected from the group consisting of an actuator, a prosthetic device, and a computer system.
31. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions embodied in a computer-readable medium for performing steps comprising:
(a) receiving a neural signal comprising an action potential;
(b) detecting when the action potential occurs; and
(c) transmitting an information signal indicating the time when the action potential occurs.
32. The computer program product of claim 31 receiving a plurality of neural signals, wherein each signal receiver is associated with one of a plurality of channels.
33. The computer program product of claim 31 comprising receiving a plurality of neural signals, wherein each signal receiver is associated with one of a plurality of channels.
34. The computer program product of claim 33 comprising transmitting a header associated with the action potential, wherein the header indicates the channel associated with the neural signal comprising the detected action potential.
35. The computer program product of claim 31 comprising transmitting a header associated with the action potential, wherein the header comprises a timestamp indicating a time when the action potential occurs.
36. The computer program product of claim 31 comprising storing samples of the neural signal.
37. The computer program product of claim 36 wherein the stored samples are a predetermined number of samples including the action potential of the neural signal.
38. The computer program product of claim 37 wherein the header indicates a channel associated with the neural signal.
39. The computer program product of claim 36 comprising determining the absolute value of one of the samples of the neural signal.
40. The computer program product of claim 39 comprising comparing the absolute value to a predetermined threshold value.
41. The computer program product of claim 39 comprising detecting an action potential when the absolute value is greater than the predetermined threshold value.
42. The computer program product of claim 39 comprising detecting a first action potential after a refractory period expires since a second action potential, wherein the second action potential occurs prior to the first action potential and on the same channel.
43. The computer program product of claim 31 comprising conditioning the neural signal.
44. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein conditioning is a function selected from the group consisting of amplify, filter, multiplex, and digitize.
45. The computer program product of claim 31 comprising receiving the information signal for controlling a device selected from the group consisting of an actuator, a prosthetic device, and a computer system.

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 transmitting at least one data signal over the Internet comprising:
at least one access interface configured to receive at least one called-party identifier from at least one calling device;
at least one interface to the Internet;
a processing system, coupled to the at least one interface to the Internet and to the at least one access interface, the processing system being configured:
to automatically verify that the at least one calling device is an authorized device without receiving further input from the calling device,
to resolve, from the received at least one called-party identifier, at least one address on the Internet for at least one remote processor,
to create data packets representing the at least one data signal, and
to transmit the data signal packets, via the at least one interface to the Internet, to the at least one remote processor using the at least one resolved address.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing system is configured to create packets representing the at least one data signal by creating Internet Protocol (IP) packets.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the IP packets are Transport Connect Protocol (TCP) packets.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing system is configured to transmit the IP packets in real time.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one data signal is at least one digitized telephone signal.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the at least one access interface is configured to digitize at least one analog telephone signal to generate the at least one digitized telephone signal.
7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the processing system is configured to compress the at least one digitized telephone signal.
8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the processing system is configured to encrypt the at least one digitized telephone signal.
9. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the at least one digitized telephone signal includes multiple digitized telephone signals and the apparatus further includes a multiplexer for multiplexing the multiple digitized telephone signals applied to the processing system to cause the processing system to create multiplexed packets representing the multiple digitized telephone signals.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the processing system is configured to transmit the multiplexed packets so as to transmit each of the multiple digitized telephone signals in real time.
11. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the processing system is further configured:
to receive further packets representing at least one further digitized telephone signal from the Internet,
to generate at least one further telephone signal based on the received digitized telephone signal packets, and
to send the generated at least one further telephone signal to the at least one calling device.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein
the at least one access interface is configured to receive a plurality of called party identifiers from a plurality of calling devices; and
the processing system is further configured:
to receive further multiplexed packets representing multiple telephone signals;
to generate further telephone signals based on received multiplexed packets, and
to send the generated further telephone signals to the plurality of calling devices via the at least one access interfaces.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one access interface includes a connection to a telephone.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one access interface includes a connection to a Personal Communications System (PCS).
15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one access interface includes a radio connection.
16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one access interface includes a connection to a switched network.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the connection to the switched network is a connection to a cellular network.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the connection to the switched network is a connection to a private switched network.
19. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the connection to the switched network is a connection to a public switched network.
20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to verify that the at least one calling device is an authorized device by:
obtaining at least one telephone number of the at least one calling device; and
comparing the obtained at least one telephone number to a predefined list of authorized telephone numbers.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processing system is configured to obtain the at least one telephone number of the at least one calling device from at least one automatic number identification (ANI) code received from the at least one calling device.
22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to verify that the at least one calling device is an authorized device by:
comparing at least one telephone number of the at least one calling device to a list of authorized subscribers and verifying the at least one telephone number is in the list of authorized subscribers;
if the at least one telephone number is not in the list of authorized subscribers, receiving at least one authorization password from the at least one calling device without prompting the at least one calling device for the authorization password; and
comparing the received at least one authorization password to a predefined list of authorization passwords.
23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to provide predefined communications services to the at least one authorized device.
24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to create at least one virtual called party such that the at least one called party identifier is mapped, via the virtual called party, to at least one further called party identifier corresponding to the at least one remote processor.
25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to receive at least one telephone number as the at least one called party identifier, wherein at least a portion of the at least one telephone number represents a geographic area, and to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet responsive to the portion of the telephone number.
26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processing system is configured to receive the at least one telephone number having an area code and to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor responsive to the area code.
27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the processing system is configured to receive the at least one telephone number having an exchange code and to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor responsive to the exchange code.
28. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to receive at least one e-mail address as the at least one called party identifier and to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet from the at least one e-mail address.
29. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the at least one interface to the Internet includes an interface to a network that transmits data using an Internet Protocol (IP);
the processing system is configured to receive at least one IP address on the Internet as the at least one called-party identifier, wherein the at least one IP address includes the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet.
30. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the interface to the Internet includes an interface to a network that transmits data using an Internet Protocol (IP);
the processing system is configured to receive at least one IP address on the Internet as the at least one called-party identifier and to resolve, from the received at least one IP address, the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet.
31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the at least one interface to the Internet includes an interface to a global information network.
32. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the at least one access interface is configured to receive at least one uniform resource locator (URL) as the at least one called party identifier; and
the processing system is configured to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet from the received at least one URL.
33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein:
the processing system is configured to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet using a Domain Name Service (DNS).
34. Apparatus for transmitting at least one data signal over the Internet comprising:
at least one access interface configured to receive at least one called party identifier, the at least one called party identifier being selected from a group consisting of an e-mail address, an IP address and a URL;
at least one interface to the Internet;
a processing system, coupled to the at least one interface to the Internet and to the at least one access interface, the processing system being configured:
to resolve, from the received at least one called-party identifier, at least one address on the Internet for at least one remote processor,
to create packets representing the at least one data signal,
to transmit the called-party identifier, via the interface to the Internet, to the at least one remote processor, and
to transmit the data signal packets, via the interface to the Internet, to the remote processor using the at least one resolved address.
35. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the processing system is configured to create packets representing the at least one digitized telephone signal by creating Internet Protocol (IP) packets.
36. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein the IP packets are Transport Connect Protocol (TCP) packets.
37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processing system is configured to transmit the IP packets in real time.
38. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the at least one data signal is at least one digitized telephone signal.
39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the at least one access interface is configured to digitize at least one analog telephone signal to generate the at least one digitized telephone signal.
40. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the processing system is configured to compress the at least one digitized telephone signal.
41. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the processing system is configured to encrypt the at least one digitized telephone signal.
42. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the at least one digitized telephone signal includes multiple digitized telephone signals and the apparatus further includes a multiplexer for multiplexing the multiple digitized telephone signals applied to the processing system to cause the processing system to create multiplexed packets representing all of the multiple digitized telephone signals and to send the multiplexed packets for respective ones of the multiple digitized telephone signals to respectively different addresses on the data packet network.
43. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the at least one access interface includes a connection to a telephone.
44. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein at least one access interface includes a connection to a Personal Communications System (PCS).
45. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the at least one access interface includes a radio connection.
46. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the at least one access interface is includes a connection to a switched network.
47. The apparatus of claim 46 wherein the connection to the switched network is a connection to a cellular network.
48. The apparatus of claim 46 wherein the connection to the switched network is a connection to a private switched network.
49. The apparatus of claim 46 wherein the connection to the switched network is a connection to a public switched network.
50. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the processing system is further configured to verify that the at least one calling device is an authorized device by:
obtaining at least one telephone number of the at least one calling device; and
comparing the obtained at least one telephone number to a predefined list of authorized telephone numbers.
51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the processing system is configured to obtain the at least one number of the calling device from at least one automatic number identification (ANI) code received from the at least one calling device.
52. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the processing system is configured to provide predefined communications services to the at least one authorized device.
53. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the processing system is configured to create at least one virtual called party such that the at least one called party identifier is mapped, via the virtual called party, to at least one further called party identifier corresponding to the at least one remote processor.
54. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the processing system is further configured to verify that the at least one calling device is an authorized device by:
receiving at least one authorization password from the at least one calling device; and
comparing the received at least one authorization password to a predefined list of authorization passwords.
55. Apparatus for transmitting multiple data signals over the Internet comprising:
at least one access interface configured to receive multiple called party identifiers;
at least one interface to the Internet;
a processing system, coupled to the at least one interface to the Internet and to the at least one access interface, the processing system being configured:
to resolve, from the received called party identifiers, respective addresses on the Internet for respective remote processors,
to create packets representing the each of the multiple data signals, each packet including the resolved address of its respective remote processor, each remote processor having a respectively different address on the network,
to multiplex the packets representing the multiple data signals to form a multiplexed packet stream; and
to transmit the multiplexed packet stream, via the at least one interface to the Internet, to the remote processors, wherein the multiplexed packets representing respectively different data signals are sent to the respectively different remote processors having respectively different addresses on the network.
56. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the processing system is configured to receive at least one telephone number as at least one of the multiple called party identifiers, wherein at least a portion of the at least one telephone number represents a geographic area, and to resolve at least one address of the multiple addresses responsive to the portion of the telephone number.
57. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the processing system is configured to receive the at least one telephone number having an area code and to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor responsive to the area code.
58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the processing system is configured to receive the at least one telephone number having an exchange code and to resolve the at least one address of the at least one remote processor responsive to the exchange code.
59. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the processing system is configured to receive at least one e-mail address as at least one called party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers and to resolve at least one address of the multiple addresses from the at least one e-mail address.
60. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein:
the at least one interface to the Internet includes an interface to a network that transmits data using an Internet Protocol (IP);
the processing system is configured to receive at least one IP address on the Internet as at least one called-party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers, wherein the at least one IP address includes the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet.
61. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein:
the interface to the Internet includes an interface to a network that transmits data using an Internet Protocol (IP);
the processing system is configured to receive at least one IP address on the Internet as at least one called-party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers and to resolve, from the at least one IP address, the at least one address of the multiple addresses.
62. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the at least one interface to the Internet includes an interface to a global information network.
63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein:
the interface to the Internet is configured to receive at least one uniform resource locator (URL) as at least one called party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers; and
the processing system is configured to resolve at least one address of the multiple addresses from the received at least one URL.
64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein:
the processing system is configured to resolve the at least address using a Domain Name Service (DNS).
65. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the multiple data signals are multiple digitized telephone signals.
66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the processing system is further configured to compress the multiple digitized telephone signals and to create the packets representing the multiple digitized telephone signals by creating packets representing the compressed multiple digitized telephone signals.
67. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the processing system is further configured to encrypt the multiple digitized telephone signals and to create packets representing the multiple digitized telephone signals by creating packets representing the encrypted multiple digitized telephone signals.
68. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the processing system is configured to create at least one virtual called party such that at least one called party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers is mapped, via the virtual called party, to at least one further called party identifier corresponding to the at least one remote processor.
69. A method for transmitting at least one data signal over the Internet comprising the steps of:
receiving, from at least one calling device, at least one called party identifier;
verifying that the at least one calling device is an authorized device automatically without receiving further input from the calling device,
resolving, from the at least one called-party identifier, at least one address on the Internet for a at least one remote processor,
creating packets representing the at least one data signal, and
transmitting the data signal packets, via the Internet, to the at least one remote processor using the at least one resolved address.
70. The method of claim 69 wherein the step of creating packets representing the at least one data signal includes the step of creating Internet Protocol (IP) packets.
71. The method of claim 70 wherein the step of creating IP packets includes the step of creating Transport Connect Protocol (TCP) packets.
72. The apparatus of claim 70, wherein the transmitting step transmits the IP packets in real time.
73. The method of claim 69, wherein the at least one data signal is a digitized telephone signal and the step of creating packets representing the at least one data signal creates packets representing the at least one digitized telephone signal.
74. The method of claim 73 further including the steps of:
receiving at least one analog telephone signal; and
digitizing the at least one analog telephone signal to form the at least one digitized telephone signal.
75. The method of claim 73 further including the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a radio network.
76. The method of claim 75, wherein the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal includes the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a personal communications system (PCS).
77. The method of claim 73 further including the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a switched network.
78. The method of claim 77 wherein the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from the switched network includes the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a cellular network.
79. The method of claim 77 wherein the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from the switched network includes the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a private switched network.
80. The method of claim 69, wherein the step of verifying that the calling party is calling from an authorized device includes the steps of:
obtaining at least one telephone number of the at least one calling device; and
comparing the obtained at least one telephone number to a predefined list of authorized telephone numbers.
81. The method of claim 80, wherein the step of obtaining the at least one number of the at least one calling device includes the step of obtaining the at least one number of the at least one calling device from at least one automatic number identification (ANI) code received from the at least one calling device.
82. The method of claim 69, wherein the step of verifying that the at least one calling device is an authorized device includes the steps of:
comparing at least one telephone number of the at least one calling device to a list of authorized subscribers and verifying the at least one telephone number is in the list of authorized subscribers;
if the at least one telephone number is not in the list of authorized subscribers, receiving at least one authorization password from the at least one calling device without prompting the at least one calling device for the at least one authorization password; and
comparing the at least one received authorization password to a predefined list authorization passwords.
83. The method of claim 69, wherein:
the step of receiving the at least one called party identifier includes the step of receiving at least one telephone number as the at least one called party identifier, wherein at least a portion of the at least one telephone number represents a geographic area, and
the step of resolving the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet includes the step of resolving the at least one address of the at least one remote processor responsive to the portion of the telephone number.
84. The method of claim 83, wherein the portion of the telephone number includes an area code.
85. The method of claim 84, wherein the portion of the telephone number includes an exchange code.
86. The method of claim 69, wherein:
the step of receiving the at least one called party identifier includes the step of receiving at least one e-mail address as the at least one called party identifier; and
the step of resolving the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet includes the step of resolving the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet from the at least one e-mail address.
87. The method of claim 69, wherein:
the Internet includes a network that transmits data using an Internet Protocol (IP);
the step of receiving the at least one called party identifier includes the step of receiving at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address as the at least one called party identifier, wherein the at least one IP address is the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet.
88. The method of claim 69, wherein:
the step of receiving the at least one called party identifier includes the step of receiving at least one uniform resource locator (URL) as the at least one called party identifier; and
the step of resolving the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet includes the step of using the at least one URL.
89. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein:
the step of resolving the at least one address of the at least one remote processor on the Internet includes the step of using a Domain Name Service (DNS).
90. The method of claim 69, further including the step of compressing the at least one data signal, wherein the step of creating packets representing the at least one data signal includes the step of creating packets representing the compressed at least one data signal.
91. The method of claim 69, further including the step of encrypting the at least one data signal and wherein the step of creating packets representing the at least one data signal includes the step of creating packets representing the encrypted at least one data signal.
92. The method of claim 69 further including the steps of:
receiving packets representing at least one further digitized telephone signal from the Internet,
generating at least one further telephone signal based on the further digitized telephone signal packets, and
sending the generated at least one further telephone signal to the at least one calling device.
93. The method of claim 69, further including the steps of:
creating at least one virtual called party which maps at least one called party identifier into at least one further called party identifier; and
mapping, via the virtual called party, the at least one called party identifier to the at least one further called party identifier prior to resolving the at least one address on the Internet for the at least one remote processor.
94. A method for transmitting at least one data signal over the Internet comprising:
receiving, from at least one calling device, at least one called party identifier, the at least one called party identifier being selected from a group consisting of an e-mail address, an IP address and a URL;
resolving, from the at least one called-party identifier, at least one address on the Internet for at least one remote processor,
creating packets representing the at least one data signal, and
transmitting the data signal packets, via at least one interface to the Internet, to the at least one remote processor using the at least one resolved address.
95. The method of claim 94 wherein the step of creating packets representing the at least one data signal includes the step of creating Internet Protocol (IP) packets.
96. The method of claim 95 wherein the step of creating IP packets includes the step of creating Transport Connect Protocol (TCP) packets.
97. The method of claim 95, wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the IP packets in real time.
98. The method of claim 94, wherein the at least one data signal is a digitized telephone signal and the step of creating packets representing the at least one data signal creates packets representing the at least one digitized telephone signal.
99. The method of claim 98 further including the steps of receiving at least one analog telephone signal and digitizing the at least one analog telephone signal to form the at least one digitized telephone signal.
100. The method of claim 98 further including the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a radio network.
101. The method of claim 98 further including the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a switched network.
102. The method of claim 101 wherein the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from the switched network includes the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a cellular network.
103. The method of claim 101 wherein the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from the switched network includes the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a private switched network.
104. The method of claim 98, wherein the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal includes the step of receiving the at least one analog telephone signal from a personal communications system (PCS).
105. The method of claim 94 wherein the at least one data signal include multiple data signals and the method further includes the steps of:
resolving respective addresses on the Internet for respective remote processors for each of the multiple data signals;
creating packets of each of the multiple data signals;
multiplexing the packets representing the multiple data signals to form a multiplexed packet stream; and
transmitting the multiplexed packet stream via the at least one connection to the Internet.
106. The method of claim 94, further including the steps of:
creating at least one virtual called party which maps the at least one called party identifier into at least one further called party identifier; and
mapping, via the virtual called party, the at least one called party identifier to the at least one further called party identifier prior to resolving the at least one address on the Internet for the at least one remote processor.
107. A method for transmitting multiple data signals over the Internet comprising:
receiving multiple called party identifiers, each corresponding to a respective one of the multiple data signals;
resolving respective addresses on the Internet for respective remote processors for each of the multiple data signals, each remote processor having a respectively different address on the network;
creating packets of each of the multiple data signals; and
multiplexing the packets representing the multiple data signals to form a multiplexed packet stream;
transmitting the multiplexed packet stream to the respective remote processors using the Internet, wherein the multiplexed packets representing respectively different data signals are sent to the respectively different remote processors having respectively different addresses on the network.
108. The method of claim 107, wherein:
the step of receiving the multiple called party identifiers includes the step of receiving at least one telephone number as at least one called party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers, wherein at least a portion of the at least one telephone number represents a geographic area, and
the step of resolving the multiple address of the respective remote processors includes the step of resolving at least one address of the multiple addresses responsive to the portion of the telephone number.
109. The method of claim 108, wherein the portion of the telephone number includes an area code.
110. The method of claim 109, wherein the portion of the telephone number includes an exchange code.
111. The method of claim 107, wherein:
the step of receiving the multiple called party identifiers includes the step of receiving at least one e-mail address; and
the step of resolving the respective addresses of the remote processors on the Internet includes using the e-mail address to resolve the address of a respective one of the multiple remote processors.
112. The method of claim 107, wherein the Internet includes at least one network that transmits data using an Internet Protocol (IP);
step of receiving the multiple called party identifiers includes the step of receiving at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address on the at least one network, wherein the at least one IP address is the address of at least one respective remote processor of the multiple remote processors.
113. The method of claim 107, wherein:
the step of receiving the multiple one called party identifiers includes the step of receiving at least one uniform resource locator (URL) as at least one called party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers; and
the step of resolving the addresses of the multiple remote processors includes the step of using the at least one URL.
114. The method of claim 113, wherein:
the step of resolving the addresses of the multiple remote processors includes the step of using a Domain Name Service (DNS).
115. The method of claim 107, wherein the multiple data signals are multiple digitized telephone signals and the step of creating packets representing the multiple data signals creates packets representing the multiple digitized telephone signals.
116. The method of claim 115, further including the step of compressing the multiple digitized telephone signals, wherein the step of creating the packets representing the multiple digitized telephone signals includes the step of creating packets representing the compressed digitized telephone signals.
117. The method of claim 115, further including the step of encrypting the multiple digitized telephone signal wherein the step of creating the packets representing the multiple digitized telephone signals includes the step of creating packets representing the encrypted digitized telephone signals.
118. The method of claim 107, further including the steps of:
creating at least one virtual called party which maps at least one called party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers into at least one further called party identifier; and
mapping, via the virtual called party, the at least one called party identifier of the multiple called party identifiers to the at least one further called party identifier prior to resolving the multiple addresses on the Internet for the multiple remote processors.

1. A compressor unit, comprising: a multistage centrifugal compressor for compressing a gas an electric motor having a stator and a rotor for driving the multistage centrifugal compressor, the rotor being supported by a first and second magnetic radial bearings each magnetic radial bearing being arranged at opposite ends of the rotor and a magnetic thrust bearing arranged adjacent to one of the first or second magnetic radial bearings, the multistage centrifugal compressor and the electric motor being accommodated in a common gastight housing which is provided with a gas inlet and a gas outlet, the stator being accommodated and isolated from the multistage centrifugal compressor in a separate stator space, which is delimited by a toroidally shaped wall section, radially and axially surrounding the stator, of the common gastight housing of the compressor unit, a gastight partition which extends between the stator and the rotor of the electric motor, and a first end wall which extends between the gastight partition and the common gastight housing of the compressor unit and a second end wall arranged opposite the first end wall and configured to isolate the stator from the compressor in cooperation with the gastight partition and the first end wall, wherein the gastight partition extends freely between the stator and the rotor of the electric motor and comprises a material of sufficiently high strength for it to remain clear of the stator and the rotor under working pressures of the gas which may occur inside the common gastight housing, wherein the high-strength material of the gastight partition comprises a fibre-reinforced plastic.
2. A compressor unit according to claim 1, in which the gastight partition comprises an erosion-resistant layer on the rotor side.
3. A compressor unit according to claim 1, in which the gastight partition comprises a gastight layer.
4. A compressor unit according to claim 1, in which the gastight partition comprises a layer of corrosion-free metal.
5. A compressor unit according to claim 1, in which the gastight partition comprises a layer of polyaryl ether ketone.
6. A compressor unit according to claim 1 in which the wall thickness of the gastight partition is greater at the ends than in the middle.
7. A compressor unit according to claim 1, in which the gastight partition and the first and second end walls are separate parts which are connected to one another in a gastight manner by means of one or more sealing rings.
8. A compressor unit according to claim 1, in which the stator space is provided with connections to a cooling unit for supplying and discharging a cooling medium.
9. A compressor unit according to claim 1, in which the gastight partition comprises a separate inner layer and outer layer, on the rotor and stator side, respectively, at least the inner layer having erosion-resistant properties, at least one layer having a high strength and at least one layer being gastight.
10. A method of producing a gastight partition for a compressor unit, the compressor unit comprising a multistage centrifugal compressor for compressing a gas and an electric motor having a stator and a rotor for driving the multistage centrifugal compressor, the rotor being supported by a first and second magnetic radial bearings each magnetic radial bearing being arranged at opposite ends of the rotor and a magnetic thrust bearing arranged adjacent to one of the first and second magnetic radial bearings, the multistage centrifugal compressor and the electric motor being accommodated in a common gastight housing which is provided with a gas inlet and a gas outlet, the stator being accommodated in a separate stator space, which is delimited by a wall section, surrounding the stator, of the common gastight housing of the compressor unit, a gastight partition which extends between the stator and the rotor of the electric motor, and at least one end wall which extends between the gastight partition and the common gastight housing of the compressor unit, wherein the gastight partition extends freely between the stator and the rotor of the electric motor and comprises a material of sufficiently high strength for it to remain clear of the stator and the rotor under working pressures of the gas which may occur inside the common gastight housing, wherein the high-strength material of the gastight partition comprises a cured fibre-reinforced plastic, in which the gastight partition comprises a separate inner layer and outer layer on the rotor and stator side, respectively, at least the inner layer having erosion-resistant properties, at least one layer having a high strength and at least one layer being gastight, the method comprising:
producing the inner layer and outer layer separately, in the form of an inner shell and an outer shell, the external diameter of the inner shell, under the same pressure and temperature, being larger than the internal diameter of the outer shell;
temporarily increasing the diameter of the outer shell by means of gas or liquid pressure, or temporarily reducing the diameter of the inner shell by lowering the temperature of the inner shell, so that it is possible to push the inner shell into the outer shell; and
restoring the diameter of the outer or inner shell by restoring the pressure of the outer shell or restoring the temperature of the inner shell.
11. The multistage centrifugal compressor, the rotor being supported by a first and second magnetic radial bearings each magnetic radial bearing being arranged at opposite ends of the rotor and a magnetic thrust bearing arranged adjacent to one of the first or second two magnetic radial bearings, the multistage centrifugal compressor and the electric motor being accommodated in a common gastight housing which is provided with a gas inlet and a gas outlet, the stator being accommodated and isolated from the multistage centrifugal compressor in a separate stator space, which is delimited by a wall section, radially and axially surrounding the stator, of the common gastight housing of the compressor unit, a gastight partition which extends between the stator and the rotor of the electric motor, and a first end wall which extends between the gastight partition and the common gastight housing of the compressor unit and a second end wall arranged opposite the first end wall and configured to isolate the stator from the compressor in cooperation with the gastight partition and the first end wall, wherein the gastight partition extends freely between the stator and the rotor of the electric motor and comprises a material of sufficiently high strength for it to remain clear of the stator and the rotor under working pressures of the gas which may occur inside the common gastight housing, wherein the high-strength material of the gastight partition comprises a fibre-reinforced plastic, the method comprising:
compressing gas using the compressor unit.

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. An apparatus for movably supporting a food tray having a center of gravity, said apparatus: comprises:
a substantially stationary base structure;
a support boom which comprises:
a bearing structure movably secured to said base structure;
a platform shaped and dimensioned to support said tray, said platform having a distal section;
a rigid beam having a proximal end portion secured to said bearing structure, and a distal end portion secured to said distal section at a point located distally from said center of gravity;

whereby said platform has a proximal section located proximately to said center which deflects downwardly in response to a sufficient weight of said tray and its contents.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said platform is secured to said beam in absence of a substantial structural connection between said platform and said beam located proximally from said center of gravity.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said platform comprises a closed ring having a most distal section secured to said beam.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said beam comprises a stop surface to prevent deflection of said proximal section beyond a given distance.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said boom further comprises a handle extending downwardly from a medial portion of said beam.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said handle is camouflaged as a plant appendage.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said base structure comprises a post having a substantially cylindrical outer surface and wherein said bearing structure rotatably engages said outer surface.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said bearing structure comprises a sleeve having an axial bore shaped and dimensioned to intimately and rotatably engage said substantially cylindrical outer surface of said post.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said post defines an interior lumen extending from a top end opening to a bottom end opening, said lumen being shaped and dimensioned to allow passage of an umbrella pole therethrough.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said base structure consists of an umbrella pole.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises a plurality of said supports booms axially spaced apart upon said post and being independently rotatable.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said apparatus further comprises a at least one spacer sleeve having an axial bore shaped and dimensioned to intimately and rotatably engage a substantially cylindrical outer surface of said post.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a top end of said post is threaded.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, which further comprises a top cap comprising a tray supporting pedestal formed thereon.
15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said platform is hingedly connected to said beam such that said platform deflects toward said post under the force of a given weight.
16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said platform is biased toward a horizontal orientation.
17. In a rotatable food tray support apparatus comprising a support boom movably attached to a standard wherein said boom comprises a rigid beam secured to a platform for supporting a tray having a center of gravity, an improvement which comprises:
said platform being hingedly secured to said beam at a point a greater radial distance form said standard than said center of gravity.