37 results about "Flat rate" patented technology

Method for computing a quota of service time or volume requested by a user in a system wherein a service provider provides a plurality of services to the user having pre-paid an amount of money on a user account to access at least one service. This method comprises determining whether the product of the amount of money (AMOUNT) by a reserved part (PART) is greater than a predetermined minimum reserve of money (MIN-RESERVE), and computing the quota which is equal to the minimum (MIN1) of the product and a maximum quantity of service (MAX-FLAT) that the user may reserve while being in a flat rate interval divided by the cost of one unit of the requested service (RATE) if the product is greater than MIN-RESERVE or to the minimum (MIN2) of AMOUNT, MAX-FLAT and MIN-RESERVE, divided by RATE if the product is less than MIN-RESERVE.

An energy usage coordinator controls the energy usage of individual buildings of a group (or portfolio) of buildings in one or more load zones. These buildings have all contracted with an energy company which controls (directly or indirectly) the energy usage coordinator. By agreeing to lower energy usage during times of peak usage (when the energy company may otherwise have to pay very high prices on the spot or short term market), the owners or managers of the buildings receive a preferential energy rate from the energy company. Such a preferential rate may be in the form of a fixed rate reduction or a variable rate reduction. Alternatively, the energy company may determine that the energy is currently selling for twice what its building portfolio has contracted to pay for it so it requests some portion of the portfolio to reduce usage so that it can sell the excess/saved energy in the market.

The present invention is directed generally to a method and apparatus for operating a gaming device having a flat rate play session costing a flat rate price. The flat rate play session spans multiple plays on the gaming device over a pre-established duration. The gaming device identifies price parameters and determines the flat rate price of playing the gaming device based on those price parameters. In one embodiment, identifying price parameters includes receiving player selected price parameters. In another embodiment, price parameters further incorporate operator selected price parameters. Should the player decide to pay the flat rate price, the player simply deposits the necessary funds into the gaming device or makes a credit account available for the gaming device to debit. Once the player initiates play, the gaming device tracks the duration remaining in the flat rate play session and stops the play when the given period has elapsed. During the play, payouts are made either directly to the player in the form of coins or indirectly in the form of credits to the player's credit account.

The present invention is directed generally to a method and apparatus for operating a gaming device having a flat rate play session costing a flat rate price. The flat rate play session spans multiple plays on the gaming device over a pre-established duration. The gaming device identifies price parameters and determines the flat rate price of playing the gaming device based on those price parameters. In one embodiment, identifying price parameters includes receiving player selected price parameters. In another embodiment, price parameters further incorporate operator selected price parameters. Should the player decide to pay the flat rate price, the player simply deposits the necessary funds into the gaming device or makes a credit account available for the gaming device to debit. Once the player initiates play, the gaming device tracks the duration remaining in the flat rate play session and stops the play when the given period has elapsed. During the play, payouts are made either directly to the player in the form of coins or indirectly in the form of credits to the player's credit account.

A horizontal direction component pixel extractor extracts a pixel of interest and a horizontal direction component pixel thereof from an input video signal. A vertical direction component pixel extractor extracts the pixel of interest and a vertical direction component pixel thereof from the input video signal. A threshold setter sets a threshold value from the pixel of interest and the vertical processing direction component pixel thereof. A non-linear smoother non-linearly smoothes the pixel of interest using a horizontal processing direction component pixel in accordance with the set threshold value, thereby generating a video signal. A flat rate calculator calculates a flat rate in a vertical direction of the pixel of interest using a vertical processing direction component pixel. A mixer mixes the input video signal and the generated video signal using the flat rate, thereby outputting a horizontal direction smoothed video signal.

A data processing method and system administers a deferred annuity contract during the accumulation phase of a contract term. The annuity contract permits the annuitant to select both an interest rate which is reset periodically (reset rate) and an interest rate which is guaranteed for multiple years (MYG rate), during the same contract term. The annuitant may elect to automatically switch from the reset rate to the MYG rate, for the remainder of the contract term, when the reset rate falls below the MYG rate.

A synthetic instrument known as a “Total Fair Value Swap” is disclosed. According to one embodiment, the Total Fair Value Swap may comprise an agreement between two counterparties, a “Fixed Rate Payer” and a “Floating Rate Payer”. According to the agreement, the Fixed Rate Payer makes a stream of payments to the Floating Rate Payer based on a fixed rate, and the Floating Rate Payer makes a second stream of payments to the Fixed Rate Payer based on a floating rate, wherein a first portion of the floating rate is based on a reference interest rate, and wherein a second portion of the floating rate is based on a credit spread associated with the Floating Rate Payer. The reference interest rate may be, for example, London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR), prime interest rate, the US dollar swap rate, the U.S. Treasury Bond rate or any other widely traded interest rate that is reset periodically. The credit spread may be observed from the Credit Default Swap (CDS) market.

The invention provides an entrance/exit vehicle passing method, device and system. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining and recognizing number plate and RFID card information; if the number plate recognition result and RFID card recognition results are obtained within a preset period, judging whether the number plate recognition result is unmatched with all RIFD card recognition results or not, if the result is negative, controlling the gateway to be in an open state, if the result is positive, recording a first abnormal event, saving the image of the number plate, controlling the gateway to be in an open state at the same time; if only the number plate recognition result is obtained within a preset period, judging the vehicle is a temporary vehicle, controlling the gateway to be in an open state; if no number plate recognition result is obtained within a preset period, detecting the vehicle, if a vehicle is detected, recording a second abnormal event, controlling the gateway to be in an open state at the same time, and if no vehicle is detected, controlling the gateway to be in a closed state. The provided method, device and system increase the passing speed of vehicles in the entrance/exit. The flat-rate vehicles and temporary vehicles can pass the same entrance/exit, the resource waste is reduced, and the traffic safety in the entrance/exit is guaranteed.

The invention relates to flat rate billing schemes and ways of improving the cost-efficiency in the broadcasting of e.g. streaming media.

Embodiments are provided for enabling dynamic pricing of services to users. The amount of usage all or different services are quantized into quanta of minimum usage units, such as to an amount of effective bits (eBits) in communications services. The amount of usage of the different services is weighted differently, such as according to service cost or demand, to obtain corresponding amount of quanta of usage or eBits for each service. The amount of quanta of usage or eBits for the different services is summed up to provide a total amount of quanta of usage or eBits. The total amount of quanta of usage or eBits is converted into a total charge, as a product of the total amount of quanta of usage or eBits, or a monotonic function of the total amount, and a fixed charge rate per quanta of usage or eBit.

The invention belongs to the technical field of electronic equipment, and particularly relates to an Arduino pro mini mobile network PC and a bicycle. The Arduino pro mini mobile network PC comprises a master control board, a downloading module, a display screen module, a satellite positioning module, a GPS antenna module, an SD card storage module, a voltage stabilizing module and a charging power source. Except the display module, all the other modules are installed inside a metal bicycle body, and an integrated circuit will not be damaged even when severe collision happens; free positioning is achieved, and mobile data cards such as an SIM card and a USIM card need to be installed on a GPS module on the market basically, so that a monthly flat rate or flow or other communication costs are generated, product popularization is limited, no other mobile data cards need to be installed on the Arduino pro mini mobile network PC, and the GPS module and an antenna are installed inside the bicycle body; transplanting is easy, the whole equipment can be transplanted into any traffic tools, and programs and drives do not need to be designed again; charging is convenient; the charging mode of the Arduino pro mini mobile network PC is the same as that of mobile devices such as a mobile phone, and the Arduino pro mini mobile network PC can be charged through connection of a data line of a USB interface.

A printing device to which a predetermined flat-rate usage fee is applied regardless of the number of times a cartridge is replaced includes an ejection head having a nozzle capable of ejecting a liquid stored in each of a plurality of cartridges, and a controller, wherein the controller includes a cleaning execution unit that executes a cleaning process and wherein the cleaning process includes a determination process of determining the presence or absence of a specific cartridge, among a plurality of cartridges, whose liquid remaining amount is equal to or greater than a reference remaining amount before performing the cleaning operation, and whose liquid remaining amount is expected to be less than the reference remaining amount when the cleaning operation is executed, and a setting process of setting the specific cartridge as a cartridge to be replaced before executing the cleaning operation.