A method and system for controlling a commercial transaction is presented. An article of manufacture has a time cell that is read by an electronic apparatus. In response to a determination of a state of the time cell by the electronic apparatus, usage of the article of manufacture in a commercial transaction is enabled or denied based on the determined state of the time cell. The expiration period of a time cell controls the time period during which the commercial transaction is enabled or is denied to be performed; an unexpired time cell may both enable or deny performance of a commercial transaction, and an expired time cell may also both enable or deny performance of a commercial transaction. The time cell may be used to restrict the usage period of a coupon, a promotional offer, a pre-paid service, or some other commercial transaction that involves an article of manufacture.

An ultralong time constant time measurement device includes elementary capacitive elements that are connected in series. Each elementary capacitive element is formed by a stack of a first conductive region, a dielectric layer having a thickness suited for allowing charge to flow by direct tunnelling effect, and a second conductive region. The first conductive region is housed in a trench extending from a front face of a semiconductor substrate down into the semiconductor substrate. The dielectric layer rests on the first face of the semiconductor substrate and in particular on a portion of the first conductive region in the trench. The second conductive region rests on the dielectric layer.

Methods, apparatuses, and systems for identifying and tracking products in a material handling system and/or for identifying and handling product defects in a material handling system are provided. An example method may include receiving one or more articles in the material handling system; capturing one or more images of the one or more articles; identifying at least one visual defect indicator on at least one article of the one or more articles; and determining an indication corresponding to at least one of a defect of the at least one article or a portion of the material handling system causing the defect.

Methods, apparatuses, and systems for identifying and tracking products in a material handling system and/or for identifying and handling product defects in a material handling system are provided. An example method may include receiving one or more articles in the material handling system; capturing one or more images of the one or more articles; identifying at least one visual defect indicator on at least one article of the one or more articles; and determining an indication corresponding to at least one of a defect of the at least one article or a portion of the material handling system causing the defect.

The present invention relates to a timer configuring method and a timer using the same. The timer configuring method includes receiving, by a timer, a target time, and changing, by the timer, an area of a time display region on the basis of the target time and counting the target time. The area of the time display region is changed by rotation of a plurality of time display structures.

Disclosed is an aerosol generating device including a real-time clock (RTC) configured to output time information measured from a reference time; a non-volatile memory; and a processor configured to: store the time information in the non-volatile memory when a preset operation is performed, when the RTC is initialized, restore the time information by correcting the reference time based on an initial reference time and an accumulated elapsed time from the initial reference time, and when the preset operation is performed again, store updated time information reflecting an elapsed time from the corrected reference time in the non-volatile memory.

A kit that includes a personal care implement having a section at least partially made from a magnetic and/or ferromagnetic material, and a magnetic holder to which the personal care implement is magnetically attachable and detachable, the magnetic holder having a timer, the timer being activated by detaching the personal care implement from the magnetic holder.

An emergency readiness verification system includes a housing, a secure weight-sensing mechanism, a vertically-actuated switch assembly, a vertically-adjustable calibration mechanism, and an alert device in communication with the vertically-actuated switch assembly. The vertically-adjustable calibration mechanism fixes a vertical position of the vertically-actuated switch assembly such that an engagement tab of the attachment extension engages an actuator of the vertically-actuated switch assembly when a weight of the fire extinguisher supported by an extinguisher attachment falls is within an alert threshold, and disengages the actuator when the weight of the fire extinguisher falls below the alert threshold or when the fire extinguisher is not supported by the extinguisher attachment.

A timer measurement device includes a signal output unit, an operation input unit and a processor. The processor stores ordered time settings including at least respective timer values. When an elapsed time that is measured by using a clock signal output by the signal output unit reaches a timer value of a time setting selected from the time settings, the processor resets the elapsed time, and switches the selected time setting to a next time setting among the ordered time settings. If the operation input unit receives a predetermined change command during, the measurement of the elapsed time for the timer value of the selected time setting, the processor performs, in response to the change command, a change processing which changes a remaining time with respect to the elapsed time for the timer value of the selected time setting.

The present invention relates to a time indicator to repeatedly monitor lapsed time after a preceding event or remaining time up to a subsequent event relative to a maximum period between the preceding event and the subsequent event, comprising:—a display configured to output an indication of lapsed or remaining time of the maximum period;—a controller connected to the display and configured: to monitor time; to accept an indication of an occurrence of the subsequent event; to reset the lapsed or remaining time relative to the maximum period upon occurrence of the subsequent event; and to drive the display to output the reset lapsed or remaining time relative to the maximum period.