290results about How to "Effective mean" patented technology

A practical system and method for the remote distribution of financial services (e.g., home banking and bill-paying) involves distributing portable terminals to a user base. The terminals include a multi-line display, keys “pointing to” lines on the display, and additional keys. Contact is established between the terminals and a central computer operated by a service provider, preferably over a dial-up telephone line and a packet data network. Information exchange between the central computer and the terminal solicits information from the terminal user related to requested financial services (e.g., for billpaying, the user provides payee selection and amount and his bank account PIN number). The central computer then transmits a message over a conventional ATM network debiting the user's bank account in real time, and may pay the specified payees the specified amount electronically or in other ways as appropriate. Payments and transfers may be scheduled in advance or on a periodic basis. Because the central computer interacts with the user's bank as a standard POS or ATM network node, no significant software changes are required at the banks' computers. The terminal interface is extremely user-friendly and incorporates some features of standard ATM user interfaces so as to reduce new user anxiety.

Chips that include one or more particle manipulation mechanisms, or force transduction elements, provided at specific locations to manipulate and localize particles proximal the substrate surface. In one embodiment, individually addressable magnetic control mechanisms such as electric coils are provided at specific locations to create a magnetic field to attract magnetic particles, such a magnetic or magnetizable beads, to those specific locations. In another embodiment, electrostatic control mechanisms such as electrodes are provided to attract and manipulate electrically charged micro-particles. A location may include a crater or well formed in the substrate, or it may include an element on the surface of the substrate. In some embodiments, one or more sensors are located proximal specific locations, e.g. specific craters, so as to analyze specific conditions at each location. In other embodiments, multiple locations share one or more sensors.

The invention provides a system and a method for data input that can be used with or incorporated into electronic, computer, and portable devices. The interface includes a small set of control buttons or keys that are used to provide access to an associated set of secondary keys, from which the user can select a character for input into the device. Intelligent ordering and grouping of the control and secondary keys allows the user to input information in a manner conducive to speed, accuracy, and ease of use, while the interface can be minimized to require less real estate than traditional keyboards. In accordance with one embodiment, a set of characters or symbols is divided into subsets, each subset being represented by a control button. Selecting a control button displays a secondary set of buttons representing actual characters or symbols that can be selected, stored, or displayed.

The present invention provides various contact center embodiments for interacting with customers using instant messaging. In one embodiment, the contact center is configured to receive instant message notifications from a customer when the customer is available for contact by instant messaging. In another embodiment, the contact center is configured to route sessionless instant messages only to a selected agent for a specified period of time. In another embodiment, the contact center is configured to provide to customers presence information for administered instant message addresses before the customers contact the contact center. In another embodiment, the contact center is configured to perform an outbound instant messaging campaign or alert with customers.

A system and method for increasing the effective bandwidth of a communications network is provided by overlaying a “super” transport and caching structure over the conventional TCP/IP communications network, for example, the Internet, which increases the transfer rate of information in the communications network. The “super” transport and caching structure includes software or hardware or both added to at least two modules separated by a communications link in the communications network. The net result is that the users of the communications network have their time to access and/or retrieve information significantly reduced, and the communications network, particularly a large network, e.g., the Internet, becomes an efficient means of performing commercial transactions by both businesses and individuals.

A method for wirelessly transmitting data from an utility meter, such as an electric meter, is disclosed. A microprocessor housed inside an energy meter obtains readings of various power indicia, stores the readings, processes the buffer to determine an efficient means of formatting the data for transmission using a radio frequency communications link. The method examines the plurality of readings and determines if values can be communicated by transmitting an initial reading and followed by the difference of the next reading from the previous reading. A special indication is transmitted to turn ‘on’ compression and allow the receiver to propertly interpret received data. Other indicators are transmitted to turn ‘off’ compression, turn on compression for a pre-defined limited duration, or vary the range of the difference between readings.

Water-resistant, protein-based powder adhesive compositions and methods for preparing them are provided. The adhesives are prepared by denaturing a vegetable protein, such as soy flour to the “preferred adhesive state”, co-polymerizing with one or more reactive cross-linking agents and spray-drying or freeze-drying the composition to preserve the preferred adhesive state. The adhesives exhibit superior water resistance, and can be used to bond wood substrates, such as panels or laminate, or in the preparation of composite materials.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a novel method, system, process, and computer program is provided that synthetically replicates a plain vanilla IR Swap through a future as well as to create a more fungible interest rate swap in the spot market. The forward start interest rate swaps of the present invention consist of a consecutive series of futures that value a forward start interest rate swap to start on a settlement date. The futures replicate the floating-rate payment terms for the interest rate swap that is being synthetically replicated. The spot interest rate swap is a standardized interest rate swap that is fungible.

An apparatus for separating a first gas from a mixture of the first gas and at least one second gas comprises a housing having an inlet port and an outlet port and an adsorbent which is positioned in the housing. The adsorbent comprising a carbon based foam monolith that has an affinity for the first gas. Thus, as the gas mixture flows through the housing, the first gas will be adsorbed onto the adsorbent and the second gas will exit the housing through the outlet port. In this manner, the first gas is separated from the second gas.

The present inventions provides a directing device for controlling the orientation of a ball launching device, comprising a first member, a second member pivotally attached to the first member, and a third member disposed substantially parallel to the second member, rotatably connected to the second member and operably configured to receive the ball launching device. The device further includes a first actuator connected to the first and second members and, a second actuator connected to the first and third members. When the first actuator is actuated the second member pivots relative to the first member, and when the second actuator is actuated the third member rotates relative to the second member. This invention also provides an automatic ball throwing device having the directing device of this invention and a method of converting a pitching machine into the same. This invention further provides a hopper for use with the directing device.

Detection and monitoring of flying insects of a given species can be facilitated by placing inside a lure-baited trap a microcontroller assembly that can sense and discriminate the presence of that species, usually by the sound it makes and then sending a positive report to a central monitoring station by satellite, internet, or antennae transmission. The central monitoring station receives the putative identifications of the targeted insect species, matched with the locations of traps responding positively, and then maps the locations of the positive trap responses. Additional features include: identification of insect species by a characteristic acoustic frequency range, a pattern stored in the microcontroller and/or the central monitoring station; use of multi-lure traps; periodic transfer of test signals from the central monitoring station to remote detection stations to verify that the system is working properly; and use of the microcontroller sensor assembly without traps to monitor sound-emitting life forms at sites attractive to targeted species.

This invention provides a combination of microRNAs for evaluating the physiological and/or pathological condition of a subject, wherein the combination comprises all detectable microRNAs stably existing in the serum/plasma of a subject; and a method for evaluating the physiological and/or pathological condition of a subject, wherein the method includes determining all detectable microRNAs stably existing in the serum/plasma of a subject; and a kit for evaluating the physiological and/or pathological condition of a subject, wherein the kit contains the tools for determining all detectable microRNAs that stably existing in the serum/plasma of a subject; and a biochip for evaluating the physiological and/or pathological condition of a subject, wherein the biochip contains the components for determining all detectable microRNAs stably existing in the serum/plasma of a subject. The aforementioned combination, method, kit and biochip can be used for diagnosis as well as differentially diagnosis of diseases including various tumors; various acute/chronic infectious diseases, e.g. viral diseases such as viral influenza, viral hepatitis, AIDS, SARS, bacterial diseases such as tuberculosis, bacterial pneumonia, and other acute/chronic infectious diseases caused by various pathogenic microorganisms; other acute/chronic diseases such as diseases of respiratory system, diseases of immune system, diseases of blood and hematopoietic system, diseases of circulatory system such as cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic diseases of endocrine system, diseases of digestive system, diseases of nervous system, diseases of urinary system, diseases of reproductive system and diseases of locomotor system, prediction of complications occurrence and malignant diseases relapse, evaluation of therapeutic effects, screening of pharmaceutical active ingredients, assessment of drug efficacy as well as forensic authentication and prohibited drug inspection and the like, possessing a number of advantages such as extensive detection spectrum, high sensitivity, low cost, convenience for sampling, ease for sample preservation, etc. The said method can be widely used in work related to general survey of diseases and so on, improve the low-specificity and low-sensitivity caused by individual differences which single markers are difficult to overcome, significantly increasing the clinical detection rate of diseases, all of which make it become an effective means for diagnosing diseases in an early phase.

Small implantable magnetostrictive-electroactive (ME) device for delivering electrical energy to surrounding tissue. The wireless ME device is activated by a changing magnetic field from an externally applied alternating magnetic field source. The ME device provides a means for stimulating a nerve, tissue or internal organ with direct electrical current, such as relatively low-level direct current for temporary or as needed therapy. The field source (e.g. small coil antenna) may be a hand-held device or affixed to the wearer's skin, clothing or accessories. The ME implant may be configured as pellets which are small enough to be implanted through a surgical needle. In one embodiment, the wireless energy transmission system can be used for stimulating bone growth.

The present invention provides HIV-derived lentivectors which are safe, highly efficient, and very potent for expressing transgenes for human gene therapy, especially, in human hematopoietic progenitor cells as well as in all other blood cell derivatives. The lentiviral vectors comprise a self-inactivating configuration for biosaftey and promoters such as the EF1α promoter as one example. Additional promoters are also described. The vectors can also comprise additional transcription enhancing elements such as the wood chuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element. These vectors therefore provide useful tools for genetic treatments such as inherited and acquired lympho-hematological disorders, gene-therapies for cancers especially the hematological cancers, as well as for the study of hematopoiesis via lentivector-mediated modification of human HSCs.