All The Claims

1. A system for de-skewing media when using an automatic media feeder, said system comprising:
a registration guide; and
a registration tab disposed to deflect an edge of said media toward said registration guide when the media passes over the registration tab.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration guide comprises an edge of a platen.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration guide comprises a registration guide utilized for manual registration of media.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration tab comprises a member presenting a sloped surface to said edge of said media when the media moves by said registration tab toward said registration guide.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration tab is movable to retract when said media is moved past said registration tab away from said registration guide and to remain extended when said media is moved past said registration tab toward said registration guide.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein said registration tab moves about a pivot when said media passes over the registration tab away from said registration guide.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration tab deflects upward when said media moves in a first direction and locks in position to deflect said media when said media moves in a second direction.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration tab is not movable independent of moving a component of a host system to which said registration tab is attached.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration tab is disposed in a lid portion of a host system.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein said host system comprises an optical scanner.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein said media comprises photographic media.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration tab has a smooth outer surface to slidingly direct said media.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein said registration tab has a triangular shape.
14. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a feed belt to provide translation of said media and thereby move said media past said registration guide in a direction of said registration guide.
15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:
a vacuum orifice providing a reduced pressure area to cooperate with said feed belt in providing translation of said media.
16. A method for de-skewing media when using an automatic media feeder, said method comprising:
disposing a registration tab to cooperate with a registration guide in providing de-skewing of media;
translating said media in a first direction to pass a first edge of said media by said registration tab;
deflecting with said registration tab said first edge toward said registration guide; and
continuing to apply a translation force to said media after at least a portion of said first edge engages said registration guide, thereby de-skewing said media.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
translating said media in a second direction to pass a second edge of said media and said first edge over said registration tab.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
allowing said registration tab to retract when said media is translated in said second direction; and
locking said registration tab in an extended position when said media is translated in said first direction.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein said translating in said second direction is provided prior to said translation in said first direction, and wherein said second edge is not passed over said registration tab by said providing translation in said first direction.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein said registration guide comprises an edge for use in manually registering media.
21. An automatic photograph feeder comprising:
a photographic media input tray;
a media singulator disposed to draw photographic media from said input tray and introduce said media in an imaging area of a host system;
a registration tab; and
a media translation mechanism disposed to accept said photographic media from said singulator and to cause an edge of the media to engage said registration tab, wherein engaging said registration tab by said edge causes said edge to deflect towards a registration guide.
22 The automatic photograph feeder of claim 21, wherein said registration tab is disposed in a movable lid portion of said host system.
23. The automatic photograph feeder of claim 22, wherein said registration tab is cast as a monolithic member of said movable lid portion of said host system.
24. The automatic photograph feeder of claim 22, wherein said input tray, said singulator, and said translation mechanism are also disposed in said movable lid portion of said host system.
25. The automatic photograph feeder of claim 21, wherein said photographic media input tray disposes said media at an angle such that when translated by said singulator a leading edge of said media does not engage said registration tab.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claims which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of growing a gramineous crop plant comprising the steps of
a) providing a stem section of a gramineous crop plant which section comprises at least one node,
b) planting said section, and
c) growing a gramineous crop plant from said planted stem section,

wherein the stem section is stored at a temperature below 15\xb0 C. before it is planted.
2. A method of propagating a gramineous crop plant comprising the steps of
a) providing more than one stem section from a gramineous crop plant by cutting the stem of said plant, wherein each section comprises at least one node,
b) planting said multiple sections, and
c) growing gramineous crop plants from said planted stem sections,

wherein the stem sections are stored at a temperature below 15\xb0 C. before it is planted.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the stem section comprises only one node.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the stem section is from about 2 to about 12 cm in length.
5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the stem section is from about 3 to about 8 cm in length.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the stem section is planted in an essentially horizontal position in a furrow.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the stem section is stored at a temperature below 10\xb0 C. before it is planted.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the stem section is stored at a temperature from about 6 to about 8\xb0 C. before it is planted.
9. A method of growing a gramineous crop plant comprising the steps of
a) preparing a stem section of a gramineous crop plant by cutting the stem of said plant, wherein the section comprises only one node,
b) planting said section, and
c) growing a gramineous crop plant from said planted stem section,

wherein the stem section is planted within about 2 months after it has been prepared.
10. A method of propagating a gramineous crop plant comprising the steps of
a) preparing more than one stem section from a gramineous crop plant by cutting the stem of said plant, wherein each section comprises only one node,
b) planting said multiple sections, and
c) growing gramineous crop plants from said planted stem sections,

wherein the stem sections are planted within about 2 months after they have been prepared.
11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the stem section is from about 2 to about 12 cm in length.
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the stem section is from about 3 to about 8 cm in length.
13. A method according to claim 9, wherein the stem section is planted in an essentially horizontal position in a furrow.
14. A method according to claim 9, wherein the stem section is planted within about 1 month after it has been prepared.
15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the stem section is planted within about 2 weeks after it has been prepared.
16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the gramineous crop plant is selected from the group consisting of Saccharum spp., Sorghum spp., and bamboo.
17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the gramineous crop plant is Saccharum spp.
18. A stem section of a gramineous crop plant, characterized in that it
a) comprises at least one node, and
b) has been stored at a temperature below 15\xb0 C. before it is planted.
19. A stem section according to claim 18 that comprises only one node.
20. A stem section according to claim 19, wherein the stem section is stored at a temperature below 10\xb0 C. before it is planted.
21. A stem section according to claim 20, wherein the stem section is stored at a temperature from about 6 to about 8\xb0 C. before it is planted.
22. A stem section of a gramineous crop plant that has been prepared by cutting the stem of said plant, characterized in that it
a) comprises only one node, and
b) is planted within about 2 months after it has been prepared.
23. A stem section according to claim 22, wherein the stem section is planted within about 1 month after it has been prepared.
24. A stem section according to claim 23, wherein the stem section is planted within about 2 weeks after it has been prepared.
25. A stem section according to claim 18 that is from about 2 to about 12 cm in length.
26. A stem section according to claim 25 that is from about 3 to about 8 cm in length.
27. A stem section according to claim 18, wherein the gramineous crop plant is selected from the group consisting of Saccharum spp., Sorghum spp., and bamboo.
28. A stem section according to claim 27, wherein the gramineous crop plant is Saccharum spp.
29. (canceled)

1. A method of playing a poker-type card game, with a draw feature, among one or more players, on at least one gaming device, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing at least one gaming device configured with mechanisms to allow the one or more players to insert one or more physical items associated with a monetary value, place wagers, receive one or more physical items associated with a monetary value as winnings or balances, and to indicate card hold selections; each of the one or more players inserting one or more physical items associated with a monetary value into the at least one gaming device;
(b) before any cards are dealt, placing of a draw poker wager by each of the one or more players, with the mechanism to place wagers on the at least one gaming device;
(c) dealing an initial hand of poker cards face up into a first row;
(d) each of the one or more players selectively indicating none, one, or more cards from the initial hand to be held, the step of selectively indicating none, one, or more of the cards in the initial hand to hold carried out by way of the mechanism to indicate card hold selections on the at least one gaming device;
(e) only after each of the one or more players has selectively indicated the cards from the initial hand to be held, dealing a draw hand of poker cards face up into a second row, the draw hand positioned parallel to the initial hand in a manner that provides column alignment of cards such that each card in the initial hand is aligned in a column with a card in the draw hand, the first and second rows sufficiently spaced apart from each other so as to provide space for the construction of a centered third row, the resulting constructed centered third row positioned in parallel between the first and second rows;
(f) for each of the one or more players in turn, moving the cards selected to be held, if any, from the initial hand into aligned columnar positions in the centered third row and leaving the cards not selected to be held, if any, from the initial hand, face up and visible in the first row;
(g) for each of the one or more players in turn, moving columnar aligned cards from the draw hand into aligned columnar positions in the centered third row, if any, that do not contain a held card from the initial hand, and leaving the cards not moved into the centered third row, if any, from the draw hand, face up and visible in the second row, thereby completing that player’s final draw poker hand in the centered third row;
(h) for each of the one or more players, determining a poker hand value of that player’s final draw poker hand from a pay table;
(i) paying out on none, one, or more of the final draw poker hands, based on the placed wagers and the hand values in the pay table; and
(j) each of the one or more players receiving one or more physical items associated with a monetary value as winnings or balances, if any, from the at least one gaming device;
wherein the one or more players are each able to see all possible final draw poker hand outcomes for that player while that player’s final draw poker hand is being constructed and displayed, and further wherein the one or more players are each able to see draw poker hand outcomes for that player that were not created when that player’s final draw poker hand was constructed and displayed.
2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of starting a timer to provide a predetermined amount of time for each of the one or more players to carry out the step of selectively indicating none, one, or more cards to be held from the first hand.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing at least one gaming device comprises providing a computerized card table with an area to display digital images of cards, digitally manage wagers, and facilitate players selections.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the deck of cards is a standard poker deck of 52 cards with one or two optional jokers.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first hand comprises five cards.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of each of the one or more players selectively indicating none, one, or more cards from the initial hand to be held is carried out by way of the use of labeled card positions, each card in the initial hand being placed into a labeled card position such that all cards can be identified with corresponding indicia positions, the corresponding indicia being positioned on objects, the object indicia corresponding to that of the cards of the initial hand, whereby each of the one or more players may display none, one, or more indicia bearing objects as an indication of that player’s selection decision.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the labeled card position indicia are numbers in sequential ascending order.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein the indicia bearing objects are numbered cards representative of the respective labeled card positions.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein each player’s final hand contains five cards.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of paying out comprises paying out on all or part of a shared progressive jackpot.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
(a) before any cards are dealt, placing of an initial stud poker wager on the initial hand of poker cards, with the mechanism to place wagers on the at least one gaming device;
(b) before any cards are dealt, placing of a second stud poker wager on the draw hand of poker cards, with the mechanism to place wagers on the at least one gaming device;
(c) after the step of dealing the initial hand of poker cards, determining a stud poker hand ranking of the initial hand of poker cards;
(d) awarding the initial stud poker wager according to the amount wagered and a stud poker pay table;
(e) after the step of dealing the draw hand of poker cards, determining a stud poker hand ranking of the draw hand of poker cards; and
(d) awarding the second stud poker wager according to the amount wagered and a stud poker pay table.
12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
(a) before any cards are dealt, placing of a two-chance stud poker wager by each of the one or more players, with the mechanism to place wagers on the at least one gaming device;
(b) after the steps of dealing the initial hand of poker cards and the draw hand of poker cards, determining a poker hand ranking of the initial hand and the draw hand; and
(c) awarding only a highest ranking hand of either the initial hand or the draw hand according to the amount wagered and a two-chance payout schedule.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claims which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of operating a fuel cell system during a fuel outage or shortage, comprising:
detecting an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the fuel cell system; and
providing a reducing purge gas flow to anode electrodes of fuel cells of the fuel cell system when the OCV approaches, reaches or falls below a threshold value below which oxidation of the anode electrodes occurs.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising terminating the purge gas flow to the anode electrodes when the OCV increases above the threshold value.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising intermittently providing the purge gas flow to the anode electrodes a plurality of times when the OCV approaches, reaches or falls below the threshold value.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the purge gas flow is provided to the anode electrodes when the OCV approaches the threshold value.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the purge gas flow is provided to the anode electrodes when the OCV reaches the threshold value.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the purge gas flow is provided to the anode electrodes when the OCV falls below the threshold value.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the purge gas flow comprises at least one of hydrogen, forming gas and carbon monoxide.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel cells comprise solid oxide fuel cells.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the OCV is detected by an operator and the purge gas flow is turned on by the operator.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the OCV is detected by a control system and the purge gas flow is turned on by the control system.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the purge gas flow is provided to the anode electrodes when the OCV approaches, reaches or falls below a predetermined threshold value.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the purge gas flow is provided to the anode electrodes when the OCV approaches, reaches or falls below the threshold value which corresponds to a plateau in a plot of OCV versus time.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a liquid, gel or solid purge material and evaporating the purge material to provide the purge gas flow.
14. A fuel cell system, comprising:
a fuel cell stack comprising a plurality of fuel cells;
a purge material storage vessel; and
a means for providing a reducing purge gas flow using purge material stored in the purge material storage vessel to anode electrodes of the plurality of the fuel cells when an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the stack approaches, reaches or falls below a threshold value below which oxidation of the anode electrodes occurs.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the means for providing is a means for terminating the purge gas flow to the anode electrodes when the OCV increases above the threshold value.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the means for providing is a means for intermittently providing the purge gas flow to the anode electrodes a plurality of times when the OCV approaches, reaches or falls below the threshold value.
17. The system of claim 14, wherein:
the purge material storage vessel comprises at least one of a hydrogen gas storage vessel, a forming gas storage vessel, or a carbon monoxide gas storage vessel; and
the fuel cells comprise solid oxide fuel cells.
18. The system of claim 14, wherein:
the purge material storage vessel comprises a liquid, gel or solid material storage vessel located in fluid communication with an evaporator; and
the fuel cells comprise solid oxide fuel cells.
19. A fuel cell system, comprising:
a fuel cell stack comprising a plurality of fuel cells;
a purge material storage vessel; and
a control system, which in operation, provides a reducing purge gas flow using purge material stored in the purge material storage vessel to anode electrodes of the plurality of the fuel cells when an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the stack approaches, reaches or falls below a threshold value below which oxidation of the anode electrodes occurs.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the control system, in operation, terminates the purge gas flow to the anode electrodes when the OCV increases above the threshold value and intermittently provides the purge gas flow to the anode electrodes a plurality of times when the OCV approaches, reaches or falls below the threshold value.
21. The system of claim 19, wherein:
the purge material storage vessel comprises at least one of a hydrogen gas storage vessel, a forming gas storage vessel or a carbon monoxide storage vessel; and
the fuel cells comprise solid oxide fuel cells.
22. The system of claim 19, wherein:
the purge material storage vessel comprises a liquid, gel or solid material storage vessel located in fluid communication with an evaporator; and
the fuel cells comprise solid oxide fuel cells.
23. The system of claim 19, further comprising:
a fuel inlet conduit;
a purge gas inlet conduit; and
a least one valve, which in operation seals off the fuel inlet conduit and opens the purge gas inlet conduit to allow a purge gas flow to be provided from the purge material storage vessel through the purge gas inlet conduit into the fuel cell stack.