A fob (10) such as a key fob has a casing (11) and a resilient clip (12) abutting the casing at a first end of the clip and overhanging the casing to form a substantially J-shaped clip. The casing may be substantially rectangular in shape and may includes a recess for accommodating therein an insert such as a electronic circuit (13) and a cover mounted (16) within the recess so as to overlay the electronic circuit and form a peripheral recess (18) between a rim (19) of the casing and a peripheral edge of the cover that may be hermetically sealed to form a sealed unit. During manufacture, the fob is injection molded wherein the resilient clip abuts the casing at a first end of the clip while lying outside a boundary of the casing. Local heat is then applied to the clip and the clip is bent so that it overhangs the casing.

A voucher based lottery system and method to allow a participant to partake in a lottery are provided. A voucher is issued to a participant, the voucher having a voucher identifier and carrying monetary value data representing a monetary value. The voucher and participant are validated by receiving from the participant the voucher identifier and validation data to identify the participant and comparing the voucher identifier against a predefined profile for the voucher. A user account is credited to reflect the monetary value associated with the voucher if the voucher is validated. At least one set of possible winning numbers is received from the participant, which defines a lottery ticket having a playing monetary value. This playing monetary value is compared to the monetary value in the user account and if there are sufficient funds, the lottery ticket is submitted to a lottery authority. The system now determines whether the lottery ticket is a winning lottery ticket and determines the lottery winnings.

A gaming table (10) suitable for use with silicon memory chip gaming chips and comprising a tabletop (12) having a storage rack (22) for the gaming chips and a monitoring station having a communication unit suitable for exchanging, by means of an antenna device (29), information with the memory of a gaming chip (25) placed in a monitoring zone (28) on the tabletop, wherein the communication unit is associated with a digital processing unit that displays an output message on the screen (30) of a display device. The arrangement of the table (10) is such that the screen (30) of the display device is physically separated from the housing of the monitoring station, and the monitoring zone (28) and the screen (30) are closely spaced on the tabletop (12) adjacent the rack (22), within reach and in view of the operator (18). The gaming table is suitable for use in casinos and gaming rooms.

A data transaction card (4) having a substrate (25) supporting a chip module (20) coupled to opposite ends of a coil antenna (11) wound so as to form a substantially integral number of main loops (21) and having a supplementary loop (22) having an active area that is different from an active area of the main loops. In one embodiment, the data transaction card has a substantially rectangular substrate having major (26) and minor (27) edges, which supports a substantially rectangular coil antenna having a major dimension (28) that is substantially equal to a dimension of the major edge of the substrate. The coil antenna is positioned relative to the substrate so that a footprint of the coil antenna does not overlap an area (13) of the substrate that is reserved for embossing data (24) therein.

The invention relates to a control apparatus for alternating-current reduction furnaces (15) having electrodes (14), which control apparatus has a transformer (11) and a regulating system (1) for the controlled introduction of power into the alternating-current reduction furnaces (15), which regulating system controls an adjusting apparatus (17) for the electrodes (14), wherein the control apparatus also has controllable power-electronics alternating-current switches (13) which are connected into the high-current conductor at the secondary end and are connected to the regulating system (1) via an ignition line (16) for supplying controlling ignition pulses, and wherein the control apparatus is designed in such a way that brief fluctuations in the electrical parameters are compensated for only by the alternating-current switches (13).

The object of the present invention is to produce a liquid fuel having no sulfur content and exhibiting a good low temperature fluidity with good efficiency by hydrogenating a heavy wax produced by the Fisher-Tropsh (FT) synthesis to decompose the wax while reducing the gasification rate and enhance the isomerization reaction which occurs simultaneously with the decomposition. A method for producing a hydrocarbon fuel oil which comprises subjecting a heavy wax produced by the FT synthesis to a hydrogenation treatment, by the use of a platinum group based catalyst having zeolite or silica-alumina as a carrier, under a specific reaction condition which is selected depending on the type of the carrier, to thereby decompose and isomerize it.

Provided is a method for hydrogenating a synthetic hydrocarbon oil, wherein a synthetic hydrocarbon oil produced by Fisher-Tropsch (FT) synthesis is hydrogenated for removing olefins and oxygen-containing compounds therefrom while reducing the gasification rate, so that the synthetic hydrocarbon oil can be efficiently converted to a liquid fuel suitable as a fuel for diesel cars. Specifically disclosed is a hydrogenation method wherein a synthetic hydrocarbon oil produced by FT synthesis is hydrogenated by using a catalyst, which is obtained by loading a certain catalyst metal onto a carrier, under specific treating conditions, while suppressing the gasification rate to a specific value or less, thereby removing olefins and oxygen-containing compounds from the synthetic hydrocarbon oil.

A support unit for a flexible large format document (7) is provided that has a pair of support panel assemblies (1 , 12) of generally rectangular shape hingedly attached to each other along or adjacent one longitudinal edge (2, 15, 18) thereof. The support panel assemblies may each have on its operatively outer surface a transparent retainer flap (4, 16) attached to the associated support panel assembly along an edge (6) of the flap corresponding to the hinged edge of the associated support panel assembly. Alternatively, or in addition, each support panel assembly may comprise a pair of superimposed panels hinged together along their edges opposite said hinged edge. The support panel assemblies are configured to receive a spine region (8, 21) of a large format document between them towards their hinged edges and to have document pages folded around their edges to provide four faces that can be read.

A game machine not causing the player who has wasted many coins to have a discomfort feeling about games and a sense of mistrust and to lose the interest in games. The game machine is characterized by comprising output means for outputting a start signal indicating start of a game according to an operation of the player, winning combination determining means for determining a winning combination by drawing on receiving the start signal, means for paying out a game medium corresponding to the determined winning combination, and means for issuing a recording medium where predetermined prize information is recorded when the number of games played and cumulatively counted each time the player plays reaches a set value to be compared with the number of games played.

A game machine not causing the player who has wasted many coins to have a discomfort feeling about games and a sense of mistrust and to lose the interest in games. The game machine is characterized by comprising winning combination determining means for determining a winning combination by drawing, means for bringing about a first special game mode which is advantageous to the player when the determined winning combination is a special winning combination, means in which when the determined winning combination is a normal winning combination other than the special winning combination, the number of game media to be paid out and corresponding to the normal winning combination is determined, and means for bringing about a second game mode in which the number of media to be paid out is determined according to the partial and cumulative count of game media which are paid out correspondingly to the normal winning combination when the number of games cumulatively counted each time the player plays reaches a set value to be compared with the number of games played.