13642results about How to "Save money" patented technology

A retail information network includes one or more POS scanning and checkout systems, each including (i) a bar code symbol reading subsystem, and (ii) a cash register computer subsystem interfaced with the bar code symbol reading subsystem and a network infrastructure, and each having access to product and price data maintained in a product / price database. The bar code symbol reading subsystem includes a local predictive error event (PEE) data store for logging and storing predictive error events (PEEs) detected within the bar code symbol reading system, wherein said PEEs are subsequently sent to POS information servers used to create predictive error alerts (PEAs) and corresponding instructions to maintain and / or repair certain aspects of the bar code symbol reading system.

An electronic HVAC monitoring computer continuously monitors the general condition and efficiency of an HVAC system and notifies a central station computer via modem link or other signal transmission means, when the general condition or efficiency of the HVAC system falls below certain industry standard values by a pre-set amount.

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.

The solar energy and solar farms are used to generate energy and reduce dependence on oil (or for environmental purposes). The maintenance and repairs in big farms become very difficult, expensive, and inefficient, using human technicians. Thus, here, we teach using the robots with various functions and components, in various settings, for various purposes, to improve operations in big (or hard-to-access) farms, to automate, save money, reduce human mistakes, increase efficiency, or scale the solutions to very large scales or areas.

A method and apparatus for providing multiple telephone lines using a single directory number. A method and apparatus for associating multiple directory numbers with multiple telephone lines. A broadband residential gateway (BRG) is a user interface to a broadband communication system providing packetized telephone service and other media services. The BRG has multiple ports, and each port is connected to one or more telephones. The multiple ports may be mapped to a single directory number, or the multiple ports may be mapped to multiple directory numbers. The BRG can provide greeting and message features. A greeting may instruct a caller to select a port which is associated with a party the caller is attempting to reach. Also, a message, played after the greeting, may further instruct the caller.

Universal Video Computer Vision Input Virtual Space Mouse-Keyboard Control Panel Robot has computer system use video vision camera sensors, logical vision sensor programming as trainable computer vision seeing objects movements X, Y, Z dimensions' definitions to recognize users commands by their Hands gestures and / or enhance symbols, colors objects combination actions to virtually input data, and commands to operate computer, and machines. The robot has automatically calibrated working space into Space Mouse Zone, Space Keyboard zone, and Hand-Sign Languages Zone between user and itself. The robot automatically translate the receiving coordination users' hand gesture actions combinations on the customizable puzzle-cell positions of working space and mapping to its software mapping lists for each of the puzzle-cell position definition and calibrate these user hand and / or body gestures' virtual space actions into entering data and commands to computer meaningful computer, machine, home appliances operations.

This invention relates to a robot system capable of completing different kinds of kitcheneering affairs automatically by timing. the robot system comprise automatic multifunctional intellectualized subsystem integrated with washing vegetable, dishes, sterilization, storage and perservation; automatic multifunctional vegetable cutter subsystem; automatic intellectualized cooking and compounding subsystem and oil fume pumping system; automatic cooking subsystem; automatic rice cooking subsystem; intellectualized automatic cooking digital menu software controls subsystem. The system establishes an only recognition coding, specifically to a robot system applicable for common household kitchen, restaurant kitchen, logistics kitchen, and automatic snack service. The invention can save time spent on cooking affairs, reduce labor cost, save a great deal of social resource and money spent on cooking affair.

The invention shows explicitly how direct and honest communication utilizing a distributed computing network, shared content and services, and a focus on social network dynamics and situational context can directly create experiential and realized value for all participants around the globe. Contributors (20), having instructional content to share (22) pertaining to the functional utilization of generically named goods, essentially become knowledge workers and are rewarded (26) during specific instances when commercial entity Sponsors (60), who have been granted rights through bidding in an auction (64), utilize this content to un-intrusively market their branded goods to interested and receptive Consumers (10), by having their brand names acknowledged as a valuable component of the original content. The content can also be federated with real-time calculations of statistical price information (37) and specialized data services (101) to further increase the experiential value. The Sponsors (60) participating in these niche groups can then be granted access-rights to analyze the developing value network ontology and the ongoing flow of quality information (34) among the participants in the value network.

A retail information network includes one or more POS scanning and checkout systems, each including (i) a bar code symbol reading subsystem, and (ii) a cash register computer subsystem interfaced with the bar code symbol reading subsystem and a network infrastructure, and each having access to product and price data maintained in a product / price database. The bar code symbol reading subsystem includes a local predictive error event (PEE) data store for logging and storing predictive error events (PEEs) detected within the bar code symbol reading system, wherein said PEEs are subsequently sent to POS information servers used to create predictive error alerts (PEAs) and corresponding instructions to maintain and / or repair certain aspects of the bar code symbol reading system.

The present invention is directed to a method of residential emissions trading and a residential emissions trading commodity. In particular, an embodiment of the present invention is a method for identifying, quantifying, and aggregating reductions in residential emissions into a tradable commodity. The step of quantifying the emissions reduction may further comprise the steps of measuring an energy savings resulting from the energy savings opportunity and calculating the emissions reduction resulting from the energy savings. The method may further comprise the steps of verifying the quantification of the emissions reduction and monitoring the residential energy savings opportunities and the quantification of the emissions reduction.

A program for purchasing homes is disclosed. The program is primarily intended for individuals with a poor or sub prime credit rating that precludes them from qualifying for conventional home loan financing. The individuals improve their credit rating as part of the program. The program is preferably operated as a franchise in which franchisees initially purchase homes on behalf of the individuals, lease the homes to the individuals according to a contract entered prior to purchasing the home and, upon successful fulfillment of the lease, the home is sold to the individual using conventional financing. The fulfillment of the lease-to-own contract assists in improving the individual's credit rating and assists in positioning the individual to qualify for conventional home loan financing.

The present invention discloses a solid soiless cultivation organic substrate and organic solid fertilizer for use by this substrate. Said substrate mainly is composed of organic substrate material and inert substrate material, the solid fertilizer mainly is composed of dung fertilizer and cake fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer. The present invention also discloses soilless cultivation method using said solid substrate. The present invention can be used in commercial production of vegetables. It is simple in raw material compoistion which is broad in source. It is also simple in technology, low in cost, no pollution to environment etc.

A system for optimizing pickup of goods employs a server for tracking orders placed by purchasers with vendors for pick-up at delivery locations in a service area, a location-aware device operated by a purchaser for notifying the server of identity and location when a purchaser is ready to proceed in transit to a real or potential delivery location in the service area, and a messaging device for the purchaser to receive ads sent by the server during a delivery time window based on an estimated time-of-arrival of the purchaser to the real or potential delivery location. By sending location-based ads to the purchaser in transit, the purchaser can be notified of other purchasing options along the way and can place additional orders to be consolidated for pickup at the delivery location. Vendors can use the system to provide “just-in-time” direct advertising to customers, and customers are motivated to subscribe to the system for convenience of delivery and time saving while shopping.

Embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus having processor configured to: (a) provide a user with access to the user's financial account via a graphical user interface; (b) determine user preferences based at least partially on the user's financial information; and (c) provide non-financial content to the user via the graphical user interface and based at least partially on the user preferences. In one embodiment, the processor is configured to determine user preferences by determining trends in the user's financial information. In one embodiment, the processor is configured to determine user preferences by distinguishing between user financial transactions that are regular and user financial transactions that are ad hoc.

The invention provides a fracturing pump truck driven by a turbine engine, which comprises an engine, a fracturing pump, pipelines and the like. A traditional large and heavy diesel engine is replaced by the turbine engine which is small in size, light in weight and high in power, the total output power of a single fracturing pump truck can be more than 4000hp under the requirements of limited integral vehicle weight. The fracturing pump truck driven by one turbine engine is equivalent to the fracturing pump truck driven by two traditional diesel engines, so that output power of unit operating area is improved, more labor and materials can be saved in transport and specific constriction operations of fracturing equipment, land requisition and operating area are reduced, and construction efficiency is improved. Further, the turbine engine can also use various gaseous and liquid fuels and is especially suitable for shale gas exploitation.

A conditional e-coupon distribution method distributes e-coupons predefined by sellers to mobile users only if the number of mobile users requesting such e-coupons equals or exceeds a threshold. The method receives a request to browse e-coupons from a mobile user. The method receives the location of the mobile user and determines a plurality of sellers local to the mobile electronic device and a plurality of corresponding e-coupons available from the local sellers. The method receives a request for a particular e-coupon from a seller and authorizes the provision of said e-coupon to the mobile user. At the end of a processing cycle, the mobile user receives the requested e-coupon if all conditions, such as a period of time and threshold, have been met. A computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein allows for storage of the method.

A household appliance system and method include an appliance control system having a common appliance interface provided on an appliance and a demand side management module connected to the common appliance interface. The module corresponds to one select utility of a plurality of utilities and is adapted to communicate with the one select utility of the plurality of utilities. The appliance control system operates the appliance based on communications with the one select utility through the module.

An Internet auction method, system and computer site where independent and / or unrelated buyers are automatically pooled to buy products / services as a group in order to entice competitive bidding from pre-approved sellers who take advantage of the large group sales to bid (offer) discounts. The buyers purchase "buying power' or "value' from a winning seller, not a specific product / service at a specific price. In this way, buyers who have interest in a similar product type, join an auction pool to commit to a spending amount based on a discount rate they desire. Sellers competitively bid to win that pooled sales amount. The seller or sellers having the greatest discount and best meeting the buyer's individual conditions wins the business. All buyers who requested the winning bid discount rate or less, receive "buying power' redeemable at that seller.

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a web-based graphical user interface to a legacy insurance data process system to increase the functionality and ease of use in issuing insurance quotes and policies, providing insurance information and other insurance related services. The system and method integrate use of Internet technology in business work flows, provide dynamic data entry for insurance coverage packages and pricing programs, offer easy access to value-added products and services, and enable local printing of professional insurance applications, proposals and forms to facilitate immediate delivery of professional-quality proposals to customers.

The present invention is directed to a method of residential emissions trading and a residential emissions trading commodity. In particular, an embodiment of the present invention is a method for identifying, quantifying, and aggregating reductions in residential emissions into a tradable commodity. The step of quantifying the emissions reduction may further comprise the steps of measuring an energy savings resulting from the energy savings opportunity and calculating the emissions reduction resulting from the energy savings. The method may further comprise the steps of verifying the quantification of the emissions reduction and monitoring the residential energy savings opportunities and the quantification of the emissions reduction.

The method of the present invention functions to perform signature and identity authentication using a third party witness whereby the parties are enjoined via a video conference and whereby an authorized identity document is created. The invention is suited to transactions that require a legally binding, traditional witnessed authentication. The method of the present invention creates legally binding documents that comprise biometric information, including at least one of the group of, a passport, a drivers license, government issued identity card, or an corporate identity document.

Mobile clinicians conduct in-home patient visits utilizing on-site diagnostic and treatment equipment, where service is enhanced by the use of portable computing and communications equipment. Initially, a mobile care entity provides a network of predesignated mobile clinicians, each having the use of a preprogrammed portable computer. Each computer is coupled to a wireless communications device, and includes local storage of patient data. Under a predetermined schedule, each portable computer updates patient data in the local storage utilizing the wireless communications device to download updates from a central storage facility. Whenever the mobile care entity receives requests for medical service at a patient's premises, the entity selects a mobile clinician and dispatches him / her to the patient's premises. The clinician visits the patient's premises accompanied by an assortment of electronic diagnostic and treatment devices, such as a pulse oximiter, x-ray machine, lab analyzer, EKG equipment, etc. To examine the patient, the doctor utilizes various diagnostic devices to prepare machine-readable reports of related aspects of the patient's condition. The clinician directs the portable computer to perform follow-up tasks including: (1) electronically collecting the prepared reports and graphically presenting them in human-readable form, (2) storing a machine-readable medical record including details of the patient's exam, and (3) utilizing the wireless device to transmit the reports and records to the central storage facility.

A system including: (a) a database of individual on-street parking spots, and individual off-street parking spots, each of the individual parking spots associated with a unique identifier (UID) and location coordinates; and (b) an off street spot management module in communication one or more external client devices, adapted to receive parking rules from an external client device operated by an owner of each of the individual off-street parking spots.

A system and method for remote postage metering of postage indicia, including demanding a desired postage amount and subsequently printing the postage indicia onto a piece of mail. A user inputs certain necessary information, as well as additional desired information, into a local processor-based system. The local system then assembles a postage demand in suitable format and transmits the same to a remote postage metering device. The remote postage metering device then verifies the demand for authority to demand and valid funding. Upon verification, the remote postage meter serves the transaction by configuring a shared device using virtual user device data structures and assembles a data packet representing an authorized postage indicia. The data packet is transmitted to the local system for printing. Printing of the postage indicia may be unaccompanied, or may include additional information. Such additional information may include destination and return address, machine readable routing or identification information, or a complete document to be posted.

A web-based restaurant ordering method and system wherein the customer accesses the restaurant's own web-site, reads the online menu, and may make dining reservations or place an online order by clicking on the desired menu items, verifying the order, and automatically sending the order via facsimile. The system monitors the order to ensure that no order is lost. The customer can place the order in a few minutes and the order is always correct, and therefore, satisfying to the customer. Moreover, the restaurant receives consistent up-to-date orders and thus can save money while providing better customer service.

A system and a method for constructing a shopping list for purchasing a collection or basket of goods according to a plurality of weighted parameters, preferably with comparison to both “bricks and mortar” stores and also virtual stores (collectively termed suppliers). Preferably the weighted parameters include the ability to prefer friendlier products, such as products which are organic, environmentally friendly, ethical or a combination thereof. Optionally, the user could determine that certain goods could only be purchased from one or more outlets and / or from a particular type of outlet. Optionally and preferably, the optimization includes determining whether to purchase a larger amount of a product in order to enjoy price savings for that product. According to other preferred embodiments, the user may optionally choose to divide a basket of products between a plurality of suppliers, rather than optimizing the basket at a single supplier.

The invention relates to a microwave photocatalytic wastewater degradation device allowing greatly expanding single pot treating capacity and belongs to the technical field of wastewater treatment. The existing microwave photocatalytic degradation technology aiming at industrial wastewater containing organic pollutants has the problems of microwave energy waste and small practical single pot wastewater treating capacity; in addition, in the prior art, the phenomenon of scale deposit can occur after the outer side surface of a quartz tube for shielding an electrodeless ultraviolet lamp is soaked in wastewater for a long time, a scale layer formed by the scale deposit blocks the permeability of light and also affects the wastewater treatment efficiency of the existing device; and the microwave photocatalytic wastewater degradation device aims at solving all the problems. The device adopts the structure that the electrodeless ultraviolet lamp is arranged in a wire mesh cage-shaped non-light tight microwave restraint made of metal material, and leads microwave into the restraint to restrain the microwave, so that microwave is free from inconducive dissipation, the design volume of a reactor is allowed to be greatly expanded based on the structure, and further the single pot wastewater treating capacity of the reactor is greatly enhanced. The device instantaneously eliminates the scale layer through high-frequency ultrasonic wave.

The invention discloses a large cross-section and multiple cross-section tunnel lining construction method. Combined type lining trolleys are chosen to carry through the trolley assembly lining to the cross-section, and adding a gantry mounting on the basis of a normal trolley single gantry mounting can form an assembled and detachable lining trolley. Steel molding plates, road wheels, main gantry mountings, etc. are listed in unchanged components in the process of the assembly trolleys with different cross-sections, and lateral adjusting driving screws, upper platform chord members, upper platform upright posts, lining steel arches, etc. are listed in adjustable components. In the process of the construction from one cross-section to another cross-section, the unchanged components do not change, and only the changeable components are carried through the refitting and assembly. The construction method has the characteristics of fast construction progress, low cost, easy control of site construction management, etc., can save a great deal of manpower, physical resources and financial resources and obtain good technical economic effect, and has the remarkable economic, social and environmental benefits; the invention is especially adapted to the large cross-section and multiple cross-section type lining construction of tunnels and underground constructions.