132results about How to "Offsetting costs" patented technology

This invention is directed towards a waste enclosure device (“device”) comprising a waste enclosure employing operational functions including collection and monitoring capacity wherein said device includes one or more programmable logic controllers. Operational functions are performed by electrical components including sensors to determine waste deposits characteristics and contents. Said device operational functions are further adapted to send and receive data, optionally wirelessly, and configured and adapted to utilize solar derived electric power and, optionally, electric power from other sources.

Software, databases, computer models, and a series of monitoring devices are provided that are used collectively to optimize farming operations for the purpose of efficiently utilizing the water right associated with the land while recognizing the potential to transfer a proportional amount of the water right in a lease or sale arrangement to other water users. The contemplated system encourages water conservation by allowing those owning water rights to determine the feasibility of changed farming practices intended to maximize net returns and profitability of their overall farming operations.

A system and method may provide secure electronic incentives to users of a wireless access point (WAP). Retailers, merchants, or other marketers of goods or services may submit incentives, such as coupons or promotions, to a server. The server may categorize and catalog the incentives based on various characteristics of the distributing entity. When a user accesses the Internet through a WAP, the server may identify at least the geographical location of the WAP. User characteristics may also be identified, such as demographics or purchasing habits of the user. The server may deliver targeted incentives to users of the WAP based on the identified characteristics. The incentives may be redeemed and the way in which incentives are targeted may be refined based on the characteristics of the redemption.

A system and process are disclosed for the controlled combustion of a wide variety of hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce thermal energy, liquid fuels, and other valuable products with little or no emissions. The hydrocarbon feeds, such as coal and biomass, are first gasified and then oxidized in a two-chamber system / process using pure oxygen rather than ambient air. A portion of the intermediate gases generated in the system / process are sent to a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process for conversion into diesel fuel and other desired liquid hydrocarbons. The remaining intermediate gases are circulated and recycled through each of the gasification / oxidation chambers in order to maximize energy production. The energy produced through the system / process is used to generate steam and produce power through conventional steam turbine technology. In addition to the release of heat energy, the hydrocarbon fuels are oxidized to the pure product compounds of water and carbon dioxide, which are subsequently purified and marketed. The system / process minimizes environmental emissions.

A mobile wireless device connects to a network of multiple wireless transceiver stations using a protocol in which a connection is established with a particular transceiver station. If the mobile device moves out of range of the original station, the connection is passed to another station, which then impersonates the original station, without dropping the connection. Preferably, the original station provides a virtual Media Access Control (MAC) address to identify itself when the connection is established, and this virtual MAC address is passed to any successor station. Preferably, the station monitors signal strength and automatically passes the connection by polling its neighbors upon determining that signal strength is getting weak.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to concentrating solar radiation using an assembly of at least one clear and one reflective film that inflates into a shape reflecting parallel rays of light to a concentrated focus in the interior or immediate proximity of the assembly. Embodiments of the present invention can be assembled in a substantially flat stack with bonds or welds between the films, compatible with conventional high-throughput film manufacturing processes. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may employ external circumferential rings or a “harness” assembly to support and point the balloon against wind forces and the like without severe stress localization. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may also employ film attachments to facilitate feedthroughs, reduce stress concentrations, and modify the inflated shape. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may also employ film modifiers, including laminated films, adhesives, printing, etc. to facilitate installation, feedthroughs, and other functions.

This invention discloses a new technology related to cellulose fiber reinforced cement composite materials using the loaded cellulose fibers. This invention discloses four aspects of the technology: fiber treatment, formulation, method and final product. This technology advantageously provides fiber cement building materials with the desirable characteristics of reduced water absorption, reduced rate of water absorption, lower water migration, and lower water permeability. This invention also impart the final products improved freeze-thaw resistance, reduced efflorescence, reduced chemical dissolution and re-deposition, and improved rot and fire resistances, compared to conventional fiber cement products. These improved attributes are gained without loss in dimensional stability, strength, strain or toughness.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention relate to inexpensive, manufacturable, robust, and easily installed interconnections for solar energy conversion systems. Particular embodiments in accordance with the present invention provide a convenient and low-cost means of interconnecting between one or more of solar energy modules and ancillary equipment electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and mechanical connections including one or more power-bearing electrical wires, cooling water conduits, compressed air conduits, electronic control and networking circuitry, conduits for chemical reactants and products, and mechanical linkages. Particular embodiments are further suitable for vibration control and damping of structures.

A system for facilitating commercial exchange of packages of electronic health records, including practice nodes in communication with one another via a peer to peer network, each practice node having a plurality of electronic medical records including medical data and patient identification data, a digital marketplace server including software for receiving a query for medical data from a user and identifying practice nodes having the medical data responsive to the query, software executing on the practice nodes for generating summaries of the medical data responsive to the query, blinding the summaries and transferring the blinded summaries to the digital marketplace server, software executing on the server for displaying the blinded summaries and receiving an order for the medical data described in the blinded summaries, and software executing on the practice nodes for blinding electronic medical records containing the ordered medical data and transferring the blinded medical data to the user.

An invention is disclosed that shades a building from solar energy gain while simultaneously channeling intercepted energy in the form of heat and electricity for useful purposes. The invention is mounted optimally on exterior building surfaces having some direct exposure to the sun. The invention may be installed on the building surface so that it integrates with the building envelope to provide cladding against the weather in addition to shade. The invention includes modular units, each having several louvers that track the movement of the sun to provide optimal shading, and optionally, lighting when the module is implemented as a skylight to allow daylight to pass through into the building interior. Each louver contains photovoltaic cells, a heat dissipating substrate to which photovoltaic cells are mounted, and an optional concentrator lens and / or reflector used to channel solar energy using inexpensive materials. Alternatively, the invention includes of stationary, modular units with reflective surfaces on the foreground that channel solar energy onto fixed solar receivers in the background. The effect is to avoid solar gain to the building surface and to concentrate solar flux onto solar receivers.

The invention relates to a combined treatment method for sodium chloride-containing wastewater generated in dressing and smelting of rare earth. According to the method, a series of desalination and concentration treatments such as deoiling, neutralizing, homogenizing, aeration, flocculation, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, electroosmosis and MVR (mitral valve replacement) concentration are carried out on the wastewater, so that recyclable purified water is obtained; ammonium bicarbonate is added into the sodium chloride extracted from the wastewater, so that the sodium salt can be converted and regenerated into sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride products for dressing and smelting of the rare earth. According to the method, the recovery rate of the wastewater is high, the effluent quality is stable, the conversion rate of the sodium salt is high, and no three wastes are discharged; production equipment is compact, simple to operate, and easy to realize automation control; the problem that the sodium chloride-containing wastewater and other similar industrial wastewater generated in dressing and smelting of rare earth are difficult to recycle is solved.

This invention is to use knowledge pattern learning and search system for selecting microorganisms to produce useful materials and to generate clean energy from wastes, wastewaters, biomass or from other inexpensive sources. The method starts with an in silico screening platform which involves multiple steps. First, the organisms' profiles are compiled by linking the massive genetic and chemical fingerprints in the metabolic and energy-generating biological pathways (e.g. codon usages, gene distributions in function categories, etc.) to the organisms' biological behaviors. Second, a machine learning and pattern recognition system is used to group the organism population into characteristic groups based on the profiles. Lastly, one or a group of microorganisms are selected based on profile match scores calculated from a defined metabolic efficiency measure, which, in term, is a prediction of a desired capability in real life based on an organism's profile. In the example of recovering clean energy from treating wastewaters from food process industries, domestic or municipal wastes, animal or meat-packing wastes, microorganisms' metabolic capabilities to digest organic matter and generate clean energy are assessed using the invention, and the most effective organisms in terms of waste reduction and energy generation are selected based on the content of a biowaste input and a desired clean energy output. By selecting a microorganism or consortia of multiply microorganisms using this method, one can clean the water and also directly generate electricity from Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC), or hydrogen, methane or other biogases from microorganism fermentation. In addition, using similar screening method, clean hydrogen can be recovered first from an anaerobic fermentation process accompanying the wastewater treatment, and the end products from the fermentation process can be fed into a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) process to generate clean electricity and at the same time treat the wastewater. The invention can be used to first select the hydrogenic microorganisms to efficiently generate hydrogen and to select electrogenic organisms to convert the wastes into electricity. This method can be used for converting wastes to one or more forms of renewable energies.

In one aspect, the invention comprises a system for enabling a crossing system operator to calculate a rebate payment to a second participant for executing the block order of a first participant based on at least one of: (a) a difference between a benchmark price and an execution price of the block order; (b) total volume of block execution; and (c) an amount that decays exponentially with the time between the first participant's order and the order's execution by a liquidity provider.

A system, method, and apparatus for precipitating a water soluble salt or water soluble salts from water, including adding a water-miscible solvent to a water solution including an inorganic salt. The system, method and apparatus also allow for the separation of the precipitated salt, and for separation of the solvent from the water. In doing so, reclamation of water is provided.

An increasing level of carbon dioxide gas in the earth's atmosphere has been determined and is generally accepted by the scientific community. The human contribution to increases in the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been identified as a driving force of global climate change.The impact of global climate change might be mitigated by means to reduce or stabilize the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.The invention provides a means for cleaning the atmosphere of carbon dioxide molecules by dissociation and refining the by-products into valuable fuels and other substances. It is taught that solar energy can be used to energize a photonic crystal producing the power and specific frequency required for localized excitation of CO2 molecules in a specific vibration mode and to the majority exclusion molecular structures comprising atmospheric gases sufficient to break covalent bonds of CO2, thereby producing reactant by-product that can be collected and refined into valuable substances and fuel.

A computer implemented medical record database management system including access by individual patients. A healthcare product or service advertiser can send one or more advertisements to a central server. These advertisements can include, but are not limited to, healthcare products and / or services, medical products and / or services, prescriptions for pharmaceuticals, non-prescription medicines, etc. Each advertisement is linked to one or more key words. These key words generally reference medical conditions. These keys may also relate to pharmaceuticals or other healthcare descriptions. Scripts may also be used in addition to keys to enable more complex correlations of a medical condition or combination of conditions or health information to a particular advertisement. The advertisements may be accessed by individual patients.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to concentrating solar radiation using an assembly of at least one clear and one reflective film that inflates into a shape reflecting parallel rays of light to a concentrated focus in the interior or immediate proximity of the assembly. Embodiments of the present invention can be assembled in a substantially flat stack with bonds or welds between the films, compatible with conventional high-throughput film manufacturing processes. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may employ external circumferential rings or a “harness” assembly to support and point the balloon against wind forces and the like without severe stress localization. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may also employ film attachments to facilitate feedthroughs, reduce stress concentrations, and modify the inflated shape. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may also employ film modifiers, including laminated films, adhesives, printing, etc. to facilitate installation, feedthroughs, and other functions.

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for sequestering CO2 gas and releasing natural gas from underground coal and / or gas shale formations using CO2 gas captured from the flue gas of a coal burning power plant, and processing it to produce cold liquid pressurized CO2, and injecting the cold liquid CO2 under pressure to create fractures within the formation and causing the CO2 to be adsorbed into the coal or gas shale and CH4 to be desorbed, released and recovered. A special pressure cycling process is used to enable the pressure within the formation to be increased and decreased, including allowing the LCO2 to change phase to a GLO2, and injecting LCO2 under pressure repeatedly, which causes greater expansion of the proliferation zone within the formation, and more efficiently releases CH4.

The invention uses a feed of atmospheric air and mixes the air with hydrogen. The hydrogen and air mixture is fed into a catalytic reactor where a deoxygenation reaction occurs. The deoxygenation reaction uses a platinum catalyst to produce water from oxygen and hydrogen. The nitrogen passes through the catalytic reactor without reacting with the hydrogen, the oxygen, or the water. The water is separated from the nitrogen in a dryer. The nitrogen may then be used in drilling and production operations. The water is fed into an electrolyzer where an electrolysis reaction occurs. The electrolyzer passes an electrical current through the water to produce gaseous oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is recycled back to the catalytic reactor and the oxygen may be vented or sold.

A private air charter transport sharing platform facilitates an original booking party entering into a transportation agreement with an air charter operator, wherein the original booking party receives rights to air transport covered by the agreement. The original booking party offers a portion of the received rights to potential incremental passengers for a passenger fee. As a result of acceptance of the offering the passenger fee is shared among the air charter operator and the original booking party.

A system and process for maximizing the generation of electrical power from a variety of hydrocarbon feedstocks. The hydrocarbon feedstocks are first gasified and then oxidized in a two-chamber system and process using oxygen gas rather than ambient air. Intermediate gases generated in the system and process are recirculated and recycled to the gasification and oxidation chambers in order to maximize energy production. The energy produced through the system and process is used to generate steam and produce power through conventional steam turbine technology. In addition to the release of heat energy, the hydrocarbon feedstocks are oxidized to the pure product compounds of water and carbon dioxide, which are subsequently purified and marketed. The system and process minimizes environmental emissions.

A method and system for providing fractional ownership of an aircraft. The method includes operating the aircraft under an FAA certification that permits the sale of aircraft capacity. Fractional owners of the aircraft, at least one of the fractional owners may be a syndicate having multiple members. The syndicate members may be managed on behalf of the syndicate. One FAA certification that permits the sale of aircraft capacity includes FAR Part 135. Additionally, the syndicate members may be billed usage fees on behalf of the syndicate, where the usage fees are billed proportional to use of the aircraft. Available capacity of the aircraft may be resold to other fractional owners and syndicate members.

A wind turbine includes a tower and a generator on the tower. The generator includes a rotor with at least one assembled blade. The assembled blade includes at least an inner piece, an outer piece, and a joint configured for assembly and disassembly of the inner piece and said outer piece. The outer piece is configured to provide passive load alleviation.

A cellulosic tissue includes cellulosic fibers selected from the group consisting of chemically pulped fibers and mechanically pulped fibers, the cellulosic fibers have from about 10% to about 50% by weight eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% by weight, and from about 3% to about 10% by weight regenerated cellulosic microfibers.

An HVAC system having a main circuit and a subcooler circuit. The main circuit includes a main circuit evaporator, a main circuit expansion device, a main circuit condenser and a main circuit compressor connected in a closed refrigerant loop. The subcooler circuit includes a subcooler evaporator, a subcooler expansion device, a subcooler condenser and a subcooler compressor connected in a closed refrigerant loop. The subcooler evaporator is arranged and disposed to exchange heat between liquid refrigerant in the main circuit and the refrigerant in the subcooler circuit to cool the liquid refrigerant in the main circuit prior to entering the main circuit evaporator. The operation of the subcooler circuit provides an increased cooling capacity per unit of a mass flow of cooling fluid through the main circuit condenser and subcooler condenser for the HVAC system with a predetermined design efficiency.

A parcel processing system configured to select a permitted shipping service level from among the plurality of permitted shipping service levels based on a plurality of rules, control the sorting of the parcel into one of a plurality of shipping containers, and bill customers.

A multi-panel sterilization assembly having a barrier panel, side tabs with grip portions for folding / unfolding the barrier panel, and a fold protection panel. The barrier panel has first and second opposed ends, a first edge and a third edge, each such edge generally perpendicular to the first end, and a second edge that is opposite the first end. A longitudinal axis extends from the first end to the second end bisecting the assembly into a first assembly portion and a second assembly portion. The first assembly portion extends from the longitudinal axis to the first edge and side tab defining a first center of mass, and the second assembly portion extends from the longitudinal axis to the third edge and side tab defining a second center of mass, such that each center of mass is closer to its respective edge than to the longitudinal axis.