All The Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A housing for surrounding a ceiling fan motor, comprising:
a frame; and
a cover for covering the frame.
2. The housing of claim 1 wherein the cover is translucent.
3. The housing of claim 1 wherein the cover is a textile.
4. The housing of claim 1 wherein the cover is silk.
5. The housing of claim 1 wherein the cover is a textile affixed to a backing to form panels which are attached to the frame.
6. The housing of claim 5 wherein the backing is styrene.
7. The housing of claim 1 wherein the cover is a natural film.
8. The housing of claim 1 wherein the cover is a synthetic film.
9. The housing of claim 1 wherein the cover is paper.
10. The housing of claim 1 wherein the frame imparts its shape to the cover.
11. The housing of claim 1 wherein the frame is octagonal.
12. The housing of claim 1 wherein the frame is rectangular.
13. The housing of claim 1 wherein the frame is round.
14. A ceiling fan comprising:
a motor having a rod extending therefrom;
a bracket attached to the rod; and
a frame attached to the bracket, the frame being covered by a cover.
15. The fan of claim 14 wherein the cover is translucent.
16. The fan of claim 14 wherein the cover is a textile.
17. The fan of claim 14 wherein the cover is silk.
18. The fan of claim 14 wherein the cover is a textile affixed to a backing to form panels which are attached to the frame.
19. The fan of claim 18 wherein the backing is styrene.
20. The fan of claim 14 wherein the cover is a natural film.
21. The fan of claim 14 wherein the cover is a synthetic film.
22. The fan of claim 14 wherein the cover is paper.
23. The fan of claim 14 wherein the frame imparts its shape to the cover.
24. The fan of claim 14 wherein the frame is octagonal.
25. The fan of claim 14 wherein the frame is rectangular.
26. The fan of claim 1 wherein the frame is round.
27. A method of providing a ceiling fan motor housing, comprising:
providing a frame; and
providing a cover for covering the frame.

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 of making a preform by molding, the molding steps comprising:
introducing a first thermoplastic material into a first mold to form during a first molding step while under first molding conditions a substantially crystallized first portion of a preform in the first mold, wherein the first molding conditions include a first melt temperature selected for achieving crystallization of the first thermoplastic material;
transferring the first portion of the preform to a second mold; and
introducing a second thermoplastic material into the second mold to form by a second molding step while under second molding conditions different from the first molding conditions a substantially amorphous second portion of the preform and maintaining compressive forces to bond the first and second portions.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mold is heated to enable crystallization of the first material and the second mold is cooled to enable solidification and removal of the first and second preform portions from the second mold.
3. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein one or more differences in temperature and pressure are used in the first and second molds to obtain the different first and second molding conditions.
4. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the first preform portion is opaque.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second preform portion is transparent.
6. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the first mold is heated to enable crystallization of the first thermoplastic material.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second mold is cooled to enable solidification and removal of the preform from the second mold.
8. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the average percent crystallinity of the first preform portion in the first mold is at least 30%.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the average percent crystallinity of the first preform portion in the first mold is at least 35%.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the average percent crystallinity of the first preform portion in the first mold is at least 40%.
11. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the second thermoplastic material has a relatively low crystallization rate compared to the first thermoplastic material.
12. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the first mold is at a higher temperature than the second mold.
13. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the first preform portion is substantially a neck finish portion.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second preform portion is substantially a body-forming portion.
15. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein during the first molding step a first molding core is positioned in the first mold for forming the first preform portion on the first core, and the first core and first preform portion are transferred to the second mold for forming the second preform portion over the first core in the second mold.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein during the first molding step a second core with a first preform portion is positioned in the second mold for simultaneously molding a second preform portion on the second core.
17. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein during the first molding step a plurality of first preform portions are molded on a plurality of first cores in a plurality of first molds, and during the second molding step a plurality of second preform portions are molded on the plurality of first cores in a plurality of second molds.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein during the first molding step a plurality of second cores with first preform portions are positioned in the second molds for simultaneously molding a plurality of second preform portions on the second cores.
19. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein a flow adjusting element is provided in the second mold to increase the flow rate of the second thermoplastic material adjacent the first thermoplastic material.
20. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the second thermoplastic material comprises a polymer composition and the first thermoplastic material comprises the polymer composition with nucleating agents to increase the crystallization rate.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the polymer composition is a polyester composition.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the polyester composition is substantially polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
23. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the first thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of polyester, polyester with nucleating agents, arylate polymers, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate, polypropylene, polyimide, polysulfone, and acrylonitrile styrene.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the second thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of homopolymers, copolymers and blends of any one or more: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene napthalate (PEN), and post-consumer PET.
25. The method of any one of claim 1, further comprising introducing a non-thermoplastic material into at least one of the first and second molds to form a non-thermoplastic layer in at least one of the first and second preform portions.
26. The method of any one of claim 1, further comprising expanding the second preform portion to form a container having a substantially transparent second portion and the crystallized first portion.
27. The method of any one of claim 1, wherein the first portion is a neck finish portion and the second portion is a body-forming portion.

1. A method comprising:
obtaining auxiliary data;
providing a pattern on a metallic surface to represent the auxiliary data,
the pattern conveying the auxiliary data in a steganographic manner, and
where the pattern on the metallic surface provides at least diffuse reflection.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pattern is provided on the metallic surface with an ink or dye.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the metallic surface comprises a first color and the ink or dye comprises a second color, the second color being chosen to help hide or conceal the ink or dye when provided over the first color.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the pattern conveying the auxiliary data is provided with digital watermarking.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the auxiliary data is redundantly provided on the metallic surface.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the digital watermarking comprises an orientation component.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the metallic surface comprises a layer in at least one of a compact disc or digital video disc.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the pattern comprises a dull finish.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the metallic surface is provided on a mechanical part.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the mechanical part comprises an automotive part.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the diffuse reflection approximates Lambertian reflection.
12. A method comprising:
obtaining auxiliary data;
modifying the auxiliary data according to a pseudo-random signal;
providing the modified auxiliary data on a specular surface with an ink or dye that provides a pattern comprising at least diffuse reflection, the pattern being provided in a steganographic manner.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the pattern is provided on the specular surface with plurality of ink or dye dots.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the specular surface comprises a first color and the ink or dye comprises a second color, the second color being chosen to help hide or conceal the ink or dye when provided over the first color.
15. The method of claim 12 wherein the pattern comprises a grayscale image.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the image comprises a texture pattern.
17. The method of claim 12 further comprising thresholding the modified auxiliary data prior to providing the modified auxiliary data on the specular surface.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein said act of thresholding comprising selecting a pixel value and discarding pixels with a value at or below the selected pixel value.
19. The method of claim 12 wherein the diffuse reflection approximates Lambertian reflection.
20. A method of steganographically marking a shiny or metallic surface, the shiny or metallic surface including a first coloration and a first finish, said method comprising:
providing auxiliary data; and
arranging a pattern on the shiny or metallic surface to represent the auxiliary data in a steganographic manner, the pattern providing diffuse or Lambertian reflection.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein the pattern is provided with an ink or dye and wherein at least one of a coloration or finish of the ink or dye is selected to hide the ink or dye with respect to at least one of the first coloration or the first finish.
22. The method of claim 20 wherein the shiny surface comprises a metallic surface.
23. The method of claim 20 wherein the shiny surface is provided on a mechanical part.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the mechanical part comprises an automotive part.

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 system for data metrics analysis, the system comprising:
at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is adapted to perform one or more of the following steps:
receiving a request for an anticipatory credit score for an individual;
identifying one or more credit entries for the individual;
accessing a data metrics model for determining anticipatory credit scores;
determining, if applicable, one or more timed credit entries in the one or more credit entries;
calculating the anticipatory credit score for the individual for a set time in the future using, if applicable, the one or more timed credit entries; and
sending the anticipatory credit score.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more credit entries are selected from the group consisting of delinquent tradelines, collection accounts, derogatory public record items, credit inquiries, and combinations thereof.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the calculating further comprises determining a date of origination for each of the one or more timed credit entries, subtracting the date of origination for each of the one or more timed credit entries from the current date to determine an expired time for each of the one or more timed credit entries, and subtracting the expired time from a predetermined drop off value for each of the one or more timed credit entries to determine a remaining time for each of the one or more timed credit entries.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the predetermined drop off value is determined by regulations.
5. The system of claim 3, further comprising determining whether each of the one or more timed credit entries is used to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
6. The system of claim 5, further comprising comparing the remaining time for each of the one or more timed credit entries to the set time, and if the remaining time for each of the one or more timed credit entries is greater than the set time, using the one or more timed credit entries where the remaining time is greater than the set time.
7. The system of claim 3, wherein the oldest remaining time for the one or more timed credit entries is used to determine a future age of information used to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more credit entries do not contain delinquent information or delinquent credit inquiries.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the calculating further comprises determining an age of each of the one or more timed credit entries, and increasing the age of each of the one or more timed credit entries by the time between the current date and the set time in the future.
10. The system of claim 9, further comprising using the increased age of each of the one or more timed credit entries to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
11. The system of claim 9, further comprising determining one or more age thresholds associated with each of the one or more credit entries, comparing the increased age of each of the one or more timed credit entries to the one or more age thresholds, and using the comparison with the least amount of time to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
12. The system of claim 11, further comprising returning a value associated with the comparison with the least amount of time with the anticipatory credit score.
13. The system of claim 1, further comprising identifying credit features related to the one or more credit entries that cause a change between the individual’s current credit score and the anticipatory credit score.
14. The system of claim 13, further comprising subtracting an absolute value of each value for each of the one or more credit entries used to calculate the individual’s current credit score from the corresponding one or more credit entries used to calculate the individual’s anticipatory credit score.
15. A system for data metrics analysis, the system comprising:
at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is adapted to perform one or more of the following steps:
receiving a request for an individual’s approximate historical credit score at a selected time;
identifying the individual’s one or more credit entries from the individual’s credit report;
accessing a data metrics model for determining approximate historical credit scores;
determining, if applicable, one or more timed credit entries in the individual’s one or more credit entries;
calculating the individual’s approximate historical credit score using, if applicable, the one or more timed credit entries that were active at the selected time; and
sending the approximate historical credit score.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein one or more credit entries are currently open or currently closed: tradelines, collection accounts, derogatory public records, credit inquiries, and combinations thereof.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the calculating comprises determining if one or more timed credit entries are currently open, and, if applicable, progressively reducing the current date of the one or more timed credit entries by a set time until a historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than an origination date of the one or more timed credit entries or until the selected time is met.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein if the historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than the origination date of the one or more timed credit entries, the one or more timed credit entries may be ignored in the calculation.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein the calculating comprises determining if one or more timed credit entries are currently closed, and, if applicable, progressively increasing the current date of the one or more timed credit entries by a set time until a historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than an origination date of the one or more timed credit entries or until the selected time is met.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein if the historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than the origination date of the one or more timed credit entries, the one or more timed credit entries may be used in the calculation.
21. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more active credit entries at the selected time are used in calculation of the approximate historical credit score, but non-active credit entries are not used in calculation of the approximate historical credit score.