507results about How to "Useful for promotion" patented technology

The rotational speed of a pneumatic hand tool is adjusted in real time to maintain a selected speed level irrespective of exterior parameters affecting the performance of the tool. The apparatus is comprised of a rotational speed sensor installed directly on the tool, a digital microprocessor using control algorithms, and a valve to adjust the flow of air to the tool.

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for moving playing cards from a first group of cards into plural hands of cards, wherein each of the hands contains a random arrangement of the same quantity of cards. The apparatus comprises a card receiver for receiving the first group of cards, a single stack of card-receiving compartments generally adjacent to the card receiver, the stack generally vertically movable, an elevator for moving the stack, a card-moving mechanism between the card receiver and the stack, and a microprocessor that controls the card-moving mechanism and the elevator so that an individual card is moved into an identified compartment. The number of compartments receiving cards and the number of cards moved to each compartment may be selected.

A method for etching a dielectric in a thermally controlled plasma etch chamber with an expanded processing window. The method is adapted to incorporate benefits of a the thermal control and high evacuation capability of the chamber. Etchent gases include hydrocarbons, oxygen and inert gas. Explanation is provided for enablling the use of hexafluoro-1,3-butadiene in a capacitively coupled etch plasma. The method is very useful for creating via, self aligned contacts, dual damascene, and other dielectric etch.

A user's smart phone is used for payments and holding information, similar to what is contained in a physical wallet. Depending on transaction details, user preferences, and location, one or more “best” funding instruments for the transaction are selected for the user, who may then revise if desired. Access to different functions or information within the phone may vary and require different authentication / security levels depending on type of use (e.g., payment or non-payment) and details of use (e.g., high payment amount vs. low payment amount, use of sensitive information vs. non-sensitive information).

A server arrangement for managing observation data of wireless devices, including data input logic for obtaining observation data from wireless devices, the obtained data including behavioral and contextual raw data relative to the wireless devices, data mining logic for establishing a number of derived data elements, on the basis of processing and analyzing the obtained observation and optional supplementary data, the processing and analyzing incorporating aggregation procedures. At least one derived data element includes usage metrics with contextual dimension relative to applications or other features of wireless devices and users, data storage for storing the obtained data and the number of derived information elements, and a data distribution logic providing derived data. The distribution logic may serve a data query constructed by an external entity through provision of derived information from derived data elements according to the query parameters. A corresponding method for execution by the server arrangement is presented.

The present invention provides an improved surgical retractor system useful for holding tissue away from a surgical site during a medical or dental procedure. In one embodiment, the surgical retractor system is comprised of a tubular member, such as a cannula, and a retractor member. In an embodiment, the retractor member may be ring shaped. The retractor member preferably may have an opening therethrough for receiving the cannula. An engaging member associated with the retractor member may be provided for rotatably engaging the cannula. In one embodiment, the cannula may have external threads that are releaseably engaged with the engaging member and allows the degree or amount of tissue retraction to be adjusted. The cannula may be configured to be used with and secured to a handle to facilitate using the retractor system. A method of using the retractor system is also disclosed.

An apparatus and a method provide a convenient way for consumers to recycle used batteries. The apparatus is a self-contained station or kiosk that accepts used batteries from a consumer and dispenses one or both of fully charged batteries and credit for the used battery to the consumer. The method determines one or more of chemistry, rechargeability and condition of the used battery, assigns a credit value to the used battery, and dispenses a form of credit based on the assigned credit value. The present invention recycles one or both of used rechargeable and used non-rechargeable batteries and separately dispenses fully charged batteries. Used rechargeable batteries are recharged and reused, and used non-rechargeable batteries are collected for proper disposal according to regulations.

A novel linked-list-based concurrent shared object implementation has been developed that provides non-blocking and linearizable access to the concurrent shared object. In an application of the underlying techniques to a deque, non-blocking completion of access operations is achieved without restricting concurrency in accessing the deque's two ends. In various realizations in accordance with the present invention, the set of values that may be pushed onto a shared object is not constrained by use of distinguishing values. In addition, an explicit reclamation embodiment facilitates use in environments or applications where automatic reclamation of storage is unavailable or impractical.

A method of endpoint detection during plasma processing of a semiconductor wafer comprises processing a semiconductor wafer using a plasma, detecting radiation emission from the plasma during the semiconductor processing, and tracking data points representing changes in spectra of the radiation as a function of time during the semiconductor processing. At any point prior to or during processing a plurality of profiles are provided, each profile representing a different processing condition affecting detection of the desired plasma processing endpoint of the semiconductor wafer. After selecting a desired profile, a first set of parameters are input, representing simplified values for determining when changes in spectra of the radiation indicate that plasma processing of the semiconductor wafer reaches a desired endpoint. The selected profile converts the input first set of parameters into a larger, second set of parameters, and then applies the second set of parameters to an algorithm that converts data points from the spectra of the radiation as a function of time into an endpoint curve. The method then uses the algorithm to track changes in spectra of the radiation as a function of time and determine when plasma processing of the semiconductor wafer reaches a desired endpoint.

A capacitively coupled reactor for plasma etch processing of substrates at subatmospheric pressures includes a chamber body defining a processing volume, a lid provided upon the chamber body, the lid being a first electrode, a substrate support provided in the processing volume and comprising a second electrode, a radio frequency source coupled at least to one of the first and second electrodes, a process gas inlet configured to deliver process gas into the processing volume, and an evacuation pump system having pumping capacity of at least 1600 liters / minute. The greater pumping capacity controls residency time of the process gases so as to regulate the degree of dissociation into more reactive species.

A service provider provides one or more “best” total value suggestions for one or more items specified by a user. The suggestions are based on one or more of user preferences, user location, available funding options, available local merchant incentives, available manufacturer incentives, and local merchants offering the item. In one embodiment, the “best” total value is the lowest price available to the user. The user may make a purchase using a suggestion or a revised suggestion.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates using visual effects within a three-dimensional (3D) display environment to indicate a usage context of a computational resource, which is represented by a 3D object in the 3D display environment. During operation, the system determines the usage context of the computational resource. Next, the system determines visual effects corresponding to the usage context to apply to the 3D object which represents the computational resource. Finally, the system applies the visual effects to the 3D object. In this way, the usage context of the corresponding computational resource can be determined by viewing the 3D object within the 3D display environment.

The Hat Trick deque requires only a single DCAS for most pushes and pops. The left and right ends do not interfere with each other until there is one or fewer items in the queue, and then a DCAS adjudicates between competing pops. By choosing a granularity greater than a single node, the user can amortize the costs of adding additional storage over multiple push (and pop) operations that employ the added storage. A suitable removal strategy can provide similar amortization advantages. The technique of leaving spare nodes linked in the structure allows an indefinite number of pushes and pops at a given deque end to proceed without the need to invoke memory allocation or reclamation so long as the difference between the number of pushes and the number of pops remains within given bounds. Both garbage collection dependent and explicit reclamation implementations are described.

A sterile suture anchor and insertion kit with the suture anchor having a cylindrical body portion with a generally tapered distal end portion and flat end. A plurality of parallel longitudinal grooves are cut into the cylindrical body and a connecting throughgoing bore is cut through the cylindrical body engaging the plurality of longitudinal grooves. An inserter driver is adapted to be mounted to the suture anchor, the driver comprising a handle with a drive shaft mounted to the handle, and a slidable sleeve mounted on the drive shaft which holds the suture anchor. A guide member comprising a handle with a hollow sleeve extending therefrom is used to hold a punch against the area on which a blind bore is formed to form the blind bore after which the inserter driver is mounted in the guide member sleeve to guide the slidable sleeve of the inserter driver and associated suture anchor into the blind bore.

A sensorimotor rehabilitation system can analyze body movement kinematics of a person, and in particular analyze the use of limbs (e.g., upper limbs) to provide feedback for sensorimotor rehabilitation. Parameters of body movement (e.g., quantity and type of body movement) can be assessed based on data recorded from an inertial sensor affixed or connected to, for example, an upper limb of a person or outer clothing such as a sleeve. Automated feedback can be provided to the user to improve sensorimotor rehabilitation.

It is intended to provide a method whereby a plural number of antibodies against cell surface antigens are quickly classified and to provide a method whereby antigens of the thus classified antibodies are quickly identified. Further, it is intended to provide a method of promoting the utilization of the useful data obtained by the above methods. Furthermore, it is intended to provide an antibody which is effective in treating or diagnosing cancer. Namely, a method of classifying antibodies which comprises: (1) the step of preparing a plural number of antibodies respectively recognizing cell surface antigens; (2) the step of bringing each of these antibodies into contact with a cell of the same species; (3) the step of analyzing each of the cells having been treated in the step (2) by flow cytometry and thus obtaining data indicating the reactivity of each antibody with its cell surface antigen; and (4) the step of comparing the thus obtained data and classifying the individual antibodies depending on the similarity. A method of identifying antigens which further comprises: (5) the step of selecting one to several antibodies from each antibody group formed in the step (4) and identifying antigens thereof; and (6) on the assumption that antigens of the antibodies belonging to a single antibody group are the same or highly related to one another, making relations between the antigens having been identified in the step (5) and the antibody groups to thereby identify the antigens. An antibody against HER1, an antibody against HER2, an antibody against CD46, an antibody against ITGA3, an antibody against ICAM1, an antibody against ALCAM, an antibody against CD147, an antibody against C1qR, an antibody against CD44, an antibody against CD73, an antibody against EpCAM and an antibody against HGFR, each obtained by using the above methods.

A capacitively coupled reactor for plasma etch processing of substrates at subatmospheric pressures includes a chamber body defining a processing volume, a lid provided upon the chamber body, the lid being a first electrode, a substrate support provided in the processing volume and comprising a second electrode, a radio frequency source coupled at least to one of the first and second electrodes, a process gas inlet configured to deliver process gas into the processing volume, and an evacuation pump system having pumping capacity of at least 1600 liters / minute. The greater pumping capacity controls residency time of the process gases so as to regulate the degree of dissociation into more reactive species.

Power sources are disclosed for electric arc welding or cutting processes, in which an interleaved multiphase switching converter is provided with a plurality of converter power circuits to convert a DC signal to a regulated signal suitable for welding.

Medical devices having at least a portion thereof coated with a lubricious polymer are disclosed. The lubricious polymer can be, for instance, a hydrogel polymer, such as a quaternary amine acrylate polymer. To bond the lubricious polymer to the surface of the medical device, the medical device is first subjected to a solvent and a multi-functional monomer. The solvent causes the multi-functional monomer to become imbibed into the surface of the medical device. Thereafter, a polymer having lubricious properties is polymerized on the surface of the device. The multi-functional monomer reacts with the polymer coating securely affixing the polymer coating to the device.

A system and method for providing a virtual knowledge marketplace in the form of an Internet-based on-demand commercial exchange for professional knowledge and services. In one embodiment, the Knowledge Marketplace System is a networked computer system comprising a computerized data processing and communication network operative to exchange data. The system includes a plurality of networked servers including a web applications server which provides an interface portal for Knowledge Consumers and Knowledge Producers to access the system and exchange information. In one embodiment, the system is operative to both receive, organize, and store knowledge content in information packets created by Knowledge Producers in a database, and further operative in turn to enable Knowledge Consumers to search or browse for knowledge content and then purchase the content for viewing at a predetermined price. In one embodiment, the system provides a subscription service enabling Knowledge Consumers to purchase viewing rights to entire topical categories of knowledge content. The system is further operative to financially compensate Knowledge Producers based on the number of times their own knowledge content is purchased by Knowledge Consumers.

A protective cover assembly used to cover and protect windows, doors or other wall openings for homes, office buildings, hotels, and other walled structures from the destructive forces of a high windstorm, such as a hurricane. The current form of the preferred embodiment consists of a high strength fabric covering an opening, such as a window and being supported by brackets, a rod and a bar. Once installed, the high strength fabric is stretched over the opening, through the use of a gears and ratchet assembly. The high strength fabric once stretched will provide protection from high winds and wind borne debris common in storms such as hurricanes. The protective cover assembly also prevents unlawful entries or break-ins of buildings. The high strength fabric is securely supported to the rod and steel bar that are firmly attached to the wall structure near the wall opening.

A method and system include verifying credentials for gaining access to a central mobile payment controller using the portable computing device (“PCD”). The central mobile payment controller may receive a merchant identifier corresponding to a merchant and then it may compare the merchant identifier against loyalty account data stored in a database. The central mobile payment controller through a tender steering module may determine if a profile of the portable computing device is associated with a merchant branded payment account and / or with a merchant branded stored value account. The central mobile payment controller may produce a message that lists one or more preferred payment options in a ranked fashion that may favor a merchant based on interchange rates.

A system, apparatus, and methods for conducting secure online monetary transactions are disclosed. One implementation of the system is configured to generate an account associated with a distributed branded media element. The account includes an account balance that may be used to purchase goods / services. A system user accesses the distributed branded media element and initiates an authentication / verification process wherein the distributed branded media element is correlated to the created account. The system may also be configured to coordinate transmitting a payment data generation request to a payment facilitation entity. In response to the request, the payment facilitation entity may create a payment id number for use by the system user to make a purchase of goods or services. The request may specify what type of payment id number is requested, for example a credit or debit card number. The request may define additional usage parameters for the payment id number.

A method for promoting use of a product having an adaptation module is provided comprising the steps of: providing sample data of a person; accessing the sample data associated with the person; using the sample data to adapt the product to the person utilizing the adaptation module of the product; making the product available to the person; tracking use of the adapted product by the selected person; storing data in the person database as tracking data associated with the selected person; obtaining feedback data from the selected person regarding the selected person's satisfaction with the product; storing the feedback data in the person database in association with the selected person; incorporating the tracking data and the feedback data associated with the selected person into an advertisement; and advertising the product.

A fastener joining an object to a panel includes a fastener plate nonrotatably receiving the object. Elastically displaceable elements, each having multiple concave shaped detents alternately engage a panel mounting aperture when the displaceable elements are inserted into the mounting aperture. Multiple retention positions are provided by the multiple detents.

There is provided an electric vehicle including a battery that stores power, a connection unit that is to be connected a charger that communicates with a management device capable of reading identification information specific to each electric vehicle from a security token brought into proximity or in contact, a driving prohibition unit that prohibits operation of a driving mechanism in a case predetermined processing relating to charging of the battery is started after the charger is connected to the connection unit, and a driving permission unit that permits operation of the driving mechanism after the identification information of the electric vehicle is read from the security token by the management device.

A data entry pad arrangement includes twenty-six letters of the Roman alphabet arranged in a matrix including six rows of three to six letters per row. Ideally, no two adjacent letters in a row of the matrix are in alphabetical order. A method for designing a data-entry interface layout including letters of the Roman alphabet thereon involves the transposition of the letters of the Roman alphabet on a three-row QWERTY keyboard into six rows, wherein a letter (optimally every other letter) within a first, second, or third row of said three-row QWERTY keyboard is placed in an additional row substantially below an adjacent letter of said first, second, or third row.

An editing apparatus generates a capsular work in which usage conditions for each of plural usages and usage secret information, obtained by encrypting a decryption key encrypted work data with ticket keys which differ depending on usage from each other, are encapsulated together with the encrypted work data. A ticket server apparatus, which manages the usage conditions and the ticket keys, issues a ticket containing a ticket key in the case of allowing a user to practice the usage requested by the user. A distribution center apparatus, which manages the capsular work, distributes the capsular work in accordance with the user's request. An audiovisual apparatus acquires the capsular work from the distribution center apparatus and requests the ticket necessary to make use of the capsular work from the ticket server apparatus. The audiovisual apparatus decrypts the encrypted work data contained in the capsular work and reproduces the work data only in the case where the audiovisual apparatus has acquired the ticket.