30results about How to "Reduce operating cost" patented technology

The present invention is directed to a contact center using presence information to direct work items to experts. More specifically, a system is provided that includes a feature that allows for subject matter experts, which are individuals other than customer service agents, to assist in incoming calls in at least three different modes: an assist mode, an intercept mode and an overflow mode. Thus, customer service efficiency and customer satisfaction are increased. In addition, it is contemplated that subject matter experts may either selectively accept or deny the request for assistance.

De-identification device for automatically configuring a general hierarchy tree of attribute values of identity information. The provided de-identification device quantitatively evaluates the amount of information which is lost when generalizing an attribute value, and can thereby automatically assess priorities between de-identified data and between data that is being de-identified. Information of each person includes attribute values of the person for a plurality of attributes. De-identification is achieved by obfuscating the attribute values, and a structure in which attribute values to be obfuscated are expressed in a tree structure according to the level of obfuscation is called a general hierarchy tree. The disclosed identity information de-identification device achieves automatic configuration by configuring a tree using frequency information of attribute values. By defining a lost information amount metric means, using the general hierarchy tree, in formation amount loss between two de-identified data or between data being de-identified is quantitively assessed.

An improvement in defrosting an air-to-air heat pump system when in the heating mode. A bypass loop transfers refrigerant at a higher temperature and pressure than is normally cycled through the outdoor unit to an outdoor coil to defrost ice on the outdoor coil, The bypass loop includes a valve movable between closed and open positions. A sensor monitors a preselected condition indicative of outdoor coil performance. A controller communicates with the valve and the sensor. Once the controller determines that a preselected set point of a preselected condition indicative of deteriorating performance has been reached, based on received sensor signals, the controller sends a signal to open the valve, allowing warm refrigerant to bypass expansion valves and flow to the outdoor unit to defrost the outdoor unit. Once defrosting is accomplished, the valve can be moved to a closed position to resume normal operation of the heat pump unit.

ONU 2A for P-P includes a signal-type discriminating unit 22A that discriminates whether a type of a downstream signal transmitted from OLT is for the P-P or not, and outputs an enable/disable control signal that controls an optical transmitter to an enable state or a disable state, and a control unit 21 that controls the optical transmitter to the enable state or the disable state according to the enable/disable control signal, wherein the signal-type discriminating unit 22A outputs to the control unit 21 a disable control signal that controls the optical transmitter to the disable state under an initial state before the type of the downstream signal is discriminated, and outputs to the control unit 21 an enable control signal that controls the optical transmitter to the enable state after the downstream signal is discriminated to be for the P-P.

A washing machine with a single input hose for both hot and cold water. The solenoid-operated water mixing valve assembly has a direct attachment to the hot and cold water supply valves. A flexible hose connects the washing machine to the solenoid-operated water mixing valve assembly. When the washing machine fill cycle begins, the solenoid-operated water mixing valve assembly is turned on and the water is output to the flexible hose. When the washing machine fill cycle ends, the water supply is turned off. The hot and cold water are mixed prior to input to the flexible hose, and as a result, only one flexible hose is required to supply water to the washing machine. The flexible hose is attached to the output of the solenoid-operated water mixing valve assembly and therefore is not under water pressure unless the washing machine is in a fill cycle. A vacuum breaker can be attached to the output of the solenoid-operated water mixing valve assembly to prevent backflow into the building water supply from the hose connection.

A hydrogen compressor system comprises a hydrogen generating apparatus for generating hydrogen gas to be supplied to a fuel cell vehicle and a multi-stage reciprocating compressor for pressurizing the hydrogen gas generated by the hydrogen generating apparatus. High pressure tanks having maximum use pressure of 20 MPa are connected to middle stages of the multi-stage reciprocating compressor by gas supplying lines via valves. By opening/closing the valves, hydrogen gas in the high pressure tanks can be selectively supplied to the middle stages of the multi-stage reciprocating compressor.

A computer system including plural computers, a management console for installing a program in the computers and a storage subsystem coupled to each computer and management console. The storage subsystem includes a first storage unit shared by the computers and plural second storage units corresponding to the computers. The first storage unit stores a file related to each installed program and an installer program for installing a program. The second storage units each store an install agent and a control file accessed by the install agent. The management console includes an install manager for starting each install agent by switching on power to a corresponding computer. Upon starting, the install agent starts the installer program based on the control file. The installer program reads a related file from the first storage unit, and transfers it to the second storage unit of the corresponding computer, thereby installing the program.

The present invention provides a method for surface decoration of a three-dimensional object with ease. In one embodiment of the invention, a planar construction article that is foldable into the object is utilized. In another embodiment of the invention, multiple angle plates that are assembled into the object are utilized. The surface decoration process is carried out before the planar construction article is folded or before the angle panels are assembled together thereby to significantly simplify the decoration process of object faces in different orientations. The invention also provides a three-dimensional object obtained from the methods of the invention.

The present invention relates to an injector for an arc furnace. The injector comprises a head suitable to face into the furnace and a body suitable to support the head. The head and body are manufactured separately from each other, and are fastened by means of removable connection means in order to implement said injector.

A condenser for an air conditioning system includes a receiver integrally formed with a second, or return, header which is in fluid communication with a second, or sub-cooling, group of tubes. A conduit extends between entry and discharge ends both of which are completely enclosed within the interior of the receiver. The conduit transports a refrigerant fluid in an upflow direction within the interior of the receiver and through a second fluid port located adjacent the discharge end of the conduit for directing the fluid into and through the return header to the sub-cooling group of tubes.

A high-pressure tank in which a liner can be formed using the conventionally used material, a decrease in the volumetric efficiency within the liner can be suppressed, and influence of a temperature rise due to adiabatic compression on the liner can be significantly alleviated. The tank includes a liner that suppresses permeation of gas; a valve device that allows the inside of the liner and the outside of the tank to communicate with each other and blocks communication therebetween; and an inner container with a through-hole disposed within the liner such that a gap is formed between the inner container and an inner periphery of the liner. The first communication channel of the valve device connects with a pipe extending in the gap and having holes therein. Gas supplied to the valve device is supplied into the gap from the holes in the pipe, and fills the inner container in a high-pressure state from the gap through the through-hole in the inner container.

The instant disclosure provides a size adjustable assemblable pallet, which includes a central base member and multiple side base members, connecting bars, and loading plates. The central base member has a main body, which defines multiple positioning grooves that cross at a junction. Each side base member has a base body, which defines multiple fixing grooves. Each connecting bar has a main portion and multiple inserting portions. The inserting portions are bent extendingly in a same direction from respective ends of the main portion. The inserting portions are inserted into the fixing grooves of two side base members or one of the fixing grooves of one side base member and one of the positioning grooves of the central base member, in order to secure the central base member and/or side base members. The loading plates are secured to the side base members or the connecting bars.

A PON in which parallel optical fiber paths are provided between dual OLTs and the ONTs, one of the optical fiber paths providing an active connection and the other optical fiber path providing a standby connection. Respective VLANs may be formed over the parallel optical fiber paths. If performance indicators, for example Ethernet continuity check messages, indicate that an ONT is no longer in communication with the OLT then data may be sent via the VLAN associated with the standby connection.

The present invention provides a coagulation processing method capable of adding a sufficiently-dissolved coagulant aqueous solution to being processed water and materializing high-efficiency coagulation processing, a coagulation processing unit, and a water processing apparatus.

A coagulation processing unit includes a coagulant aqueous solution storage tank 1 to have a stirrer 5 and store a coagulant aqueous solution, a particle size distribution measurement device 50 to measure the particle size distribution of the coagulant aqueous solution in the coagulant aqueous solution storage tank 1, a coagulation tank 11 to mix being processed water with an added coagulant aqueous solution and form a coagulation, a coagulation removing section 9 to remove the coagulation from the being processed water containing the coagulation, and a control section 6 to control the stirrer 5 so that a median size in the particle size distribution of the coagulant aqueous solution may be not more than 1.0 μm on the basis of a measured particle size distribution.

The present invention provides a fire-resistant electrical feedthrough system for use in offshore and top-side electrical submersible pump (“ESP”) installations. The fire-resistant electrical feedthrough system includes a minimum of two, redundant pressure barriers, in order to provide for safe operation and increased system reliability. The primary barrier is typically embedded within the wellhead equipment structure, while the secondary barrier is typically externally mounted.

The present invention provides an air/wind tunnel power system for a vehicle having an electrically operable drive system. The system includes at least one battery which is mounted within such vehicle and is connected to such drive system and at least one air/wind powered turbine which is mounted on such vehicle and is electrically coupled to the at least one battery. The air/wind powered turbine has a propeller fixed in a vertical plane and affixed to a horizontally disposed shaft running on a longitudinal axis of such vehicle through a tunnel all having an axis thereof disposed horizontally. A rotational movement of the propeller caused by an air current enables the at least one turbine to generate an electric energy which is stored in the at least one battery which is used by such drive system to move such vehicle in a direction of travel.

Predicting automobile future value and operational costs includes obtaining ownership and maintenance determinative factors for an automobile and an operator profile for an automobile operator. The ownership and maintenance determinative factors include operational parameters and maintenance parameters affecting ownership costs and automobile value for the automobile, and the operator profile for an automobile operator describes automobile operating conditions attributable to the automobile operator. At least one of the ownership and maintenance determinative factors and the operator profile is used to predict future value and operational costs for the automobile owned and operated by the operator.

A fifth wheel hitch lube plate includes a support plate moldably coupled to a cover. By way of example, the support plate is a metallic plate with a number of openings and/or cavities. Some of the openings are configured to receive fasteners while other openings, referred to as cover locking cavities, are configured to cooperate with the cover during the molding operation to mechanically lock or couple the cover to the support plate. The cover locking cavities include an upper, narrow passage that is in communication with a lower, larger cavity. At least a portion of the cover is supported by a top surface of the support plate.

The present invention relates to a mixed metal oxide catalyst in which a hydrotalcite precursor containing an alkali metal is impregnated or intercalated with a nonprecious metal, a method of manufacturing the same, and a method of decomposing nitrogen oxide using the mixed metal oxide catalyst. The mixed metal oxide catalyst has excellent catalytic activity because it can decompose NO_x, N₂O or a mixture thereof even at low temperature, and is economical because it does not use a precious metal.

A emitter circuit for providing a bias voltage is disclosed. The emitter circuit can comprise an emitter. The emitter circuit can comprise a transductor that includes a primary winding and a secondary winding. The secondary winding can be operable to receive an alternating current (AC) carrier signal. The emitter circuit can comprise a voltage multiplier operable to receive the AC carrier signal from the secondary winding and generate a DC bias voltage. The emitter circuit can comprise a zener diode to limit an amplitude of the DC bias voltage applied across the emitter. The emitter circuit can comprise a filter capacitor operable to smooth the DC bias voltage applied across the emitter.

The problem is to provide a carbon dioxide separator that, when hydrating carbon dioxide contained in a gas to be treated to separate, can separate carbon dioxide from the gas to be treated at high efficiency and a method therefor. For this, a carbon dioxide separator that includes: a carbon dioxide hydrate formation part where carbon dioxide hydrate is formed with a gas to be treated containing carbon dioxide and water as a raw material; and a carbon dioxide absorption part where high pressure gas that passed through the carbon dioxide hydrate formation part without being hydrated is brought into gas-liquid contact with water to let absorb carbon dioxide in the high pressure gas, in which water in the carbon dioxide absorption part is sent to the carbon dioxide hydrate formation part as the raw material water is provided.

For reducing volume requirements and magnetic flux leakage, a compact inductor includes a first planar core with a first core thickness along a first axis orthogonal to a plane of the first planar core. In addition, the inductor includes a second planar core disposed parallel to the first planar core with a second core thickness along the first axis. The inductor further includes a plurality of electrical windings disposed between and adjacent to an inside plane of the first planar core and an inside plane of the second planar core. The electrical windings may include insulated electrical wires. No magnetic teeth may be disposed between the first planar core and the second planar core. The first axis is parallel to a magnetic axis of each electrical winding.

In an isomerization process where the isomerization effluent (114) is fractionated in a deisohexanizer (116) to provide a lower boiling fraction (122) containing dimethylbutanes, a higher boiling fraction containing methylpentanes and a bottoms stream (120) containing normal hexane and heavies, the bottoms stream is contacted with a selective permeation membrane (124) to provide a normal hexane-containing permeate (128) suitable for recycle to the isomerization. The energy consumption of the deisohexanizer (116) can be reduced without adversely affecting the octane rating of the overhead (122).

Provided is an LED lamp for prevention of freezing, comprising: a housing opened at a front side thereof; an LED unit disposed inside the housing; a lens mounted at the opened front side of the housing and configured to allow lighting light emitted from the LED unit to transmit therethrough; a heating member disposed at the rear side of the lens and configured to generate heat by being supplied with power; a sensor unit disposed at the inside of the housing and configured to sense the internal temperature of the housing; and a control unit configured to control the power supplied to the heating member depending on the internal temperature of the housing, sensed by the sensor unit.

The present invention relates to a device and a method for synchronizing an image capture device with a first image data set. The image capture device is used for recording a second image data set of a periodically moving area or object. Each first image data set contains information as to the point in time, relative to the periodically moving area or object, when recording took place. The device additionally acquires periodically recurring, current information of the area as well as information concerning the recording instant of the first image data set. From the periodically recurring information and the recording instant of the first image data set, a triggering instant is derived which controls at least one recording of the second image data set by the image capture device in such a way that the second image data set contains image data synchronized to the first image data set.

The present invention provides a steam powered turbine battery regeneration system for a vehicle hay an electrically operable drive system. The system includes at least one battery which is mounted within such vehicle and is connected to such drive system and at least one steam powered turbine which is mounted within such vehicle and is electrically coupled to the at least one battery. The steam powered turbine has a propeller fixed in a vertical plane and affixed to a horizontally disposed shaft mounted within such vehicle. A rotational movement of the propeller caused by a flow of steam enables the at least one turbine to generate an electric energy which is stored in the at least one battery which is used by such drive system to move such vehicle in a direction of travel.

Methods using novel cathode, electrolyte and oxygen separation materials operating at intermediate temperatures for use in solid oxide fuel cells and ion transport membranes include oxides with perovskite related structures and an ordered arrangement of A site cations. The materials have significantly faster oxygen kinetics than in corresponding disordered perovskites.

A novel and inexpensive excitation circuit based on a single switch and a single source drives helium-free TEA CO₂ lasers, mini to conventional types, providing low divergent output. By varying the partial pressure of either CO₂ or N₂, the duration (FWHM) and the peak power of the laser pulse (for a system with active volume about 70 cc) is made to vary by a factor of about 7 and about 5 respectively. The fact that expensive and scarce helium is not a constituent of the laser gas mixture makes it an ideal system for high repetition rate operation as the gas re-circulatory loop consisting of the heat exchanger and the catalytic re-converter, a mandatory requirement for conventional systems to recycle helium gas, can be readily dispensed with here. This laser can be used wherever a TEA CO₂ laser with conventional gas mixture containing helium is used.

An above-ground pool which consists of a plurality of layers of which there is an inner woven reinforced vinyl layer, a second, foil-laminated, metalized layer which is entrapped between a third woven reinforced vinyl layer. The three layers are then sealed together to form a watertight structure. The inner and outer layer is designed to be able to withstand forces which a typical container would experience. The core of the material is polyester woven which is then encased in durable vinyl. The layers are all combined together to form a water-tight seal by using radio frequency energy to weld the inner and outer layer together to form a permanent seal while the foil laminated, metalized layer is entrapped between the inner and outer layer.

A new and improved food warming appliance comprises a housing within which a multiplicity of elongated sanitary sleeves or cups are adapted to be removably mounted and within which cheese dispensing guns are adapted to be respectively disposed. Respectively surrounding each one of the elongated sanitary sleeves or cups is an elongated aluminum tube, and respectively surrounding each one of the elongated aluminum tubes is an elongated flexible foil tube which has a heating strip operatively associated therewith. To complete the assembly, a suitable elongated tubular insulation sleeve respectively surrounds each one of the elongated flexible foil tubes. In this manner, when the heating strips of the foil heaters are energized, heat is transmitted radially inwardly from the foil heaters, to the aluminum tubes, and then to the sanitary sleeves or cups for, in turn, heating the dispensing guns whereby, for example, the semi-solid cheese products, disposed within the cheese dispensing guns, are sufficiently heated to predetermined temperatures which not only melt the cheese products and provide the same with the requisite fluidity for easy and reliable dispensing, but also renders the cheese products safe for consumption. Still further, a food dispensing station is formed by the food warming appliance and the dispensing guns.