120 results about "Cost component" patented technology

A cellular wireless packet data communication system containing transmit-only endpoint devices which transmit to receive-only base stations. The system is configured to allow for large area coverage (e.g., a metropolitan area) with far fewer number base stations than are required with conventional two-way cellular systems. The base station coverage areas are configured to overlap, allowing for reception of packets at multiple base stations. A data concentrator resolves redundantly received messages. The network is configurable as a WAN, a LAN, or a combination of the two. Novel modulation techniques (e.g., a 16QAM submodulation together with a 7FSK modulation) are used such that low cost components can be used in the transmitters and receivers while achieving outstanding probability of success performance. The endpoint devices are battery operated and accordingly, are designed for low power consumption and multi-year battery life. The system is used in a variety of applications including remote monitoring and mobile communications.

A position detection apparatus, with which the setting position adjustment of imaging sections is not required and the maintenance can be made easily, structuring of which can be realized with low-cost components, is provided. In the position detection apparatus, imaging sections (7), each of those which includes an area image sensor (70), in which light-sensitive elements are arrayed in a two-dimensional pattern, and an image formation lens (71), are placed to the lateral two points of a detection plane (1), respectively. A selection device (10) selects particular pixels corresponding to a particular field of view of a reflex reflection frame (4) or the like from the light-sensitive elements within a range of a given field of view having been imaged by the imaging sections (7). An image processing device (11) image-processes a particular image signal corresponding to the selected particular pixels and then outputs an indicating position coordinate of a pointing device (2).

A surface-mountable glass-sealed light-emitting diode is provided. It has high reliability and high external quantum efficiency, and can achieve a low-cost components-implemented board. An LED bare chip (1) has opposite surfaces, which are provided with electrodes (2) for supplying power from external. A pair of dumet wires (3) are separately connected to the respective electrodes (2) sandwiching the LED bare chip (1) therebetween. The LED bare chip (1), the electrodes (2) and parts of the dumet wires (3) are integrally glass-sealed (4). A pair of metallic disc plates (6) have holes (5) formed through the center. They are secured on both sides of the glass seal (4) and solder-plated, allowing the pair of dumet wires (3) projected from the glass seal to pass through the holes (5).

The invention is a business process embodied in a software algorithm that determines difference in practice patterns among physicians for the main cost components of given conditions.

A method for controlling an autonomous vehicle includes obtaining information describing a roadway; defining a plurality of layers along the roadway between a starting position and a goal position, each layer having a first width, and each layer having a plurality of nodes that are spaced from one another transversely with respect to the roadway within the first width; and determining a first trajectory from the starting position to the goal position, by minimizing a cost value associated with traversing the layers. Determining the first trajectory includes, for each layer, determining layer-specific weighting factors for each of a plurality of cost components, based on information associated with the respective layer, and determining, for each node of the respective layer, a cost for travelling to one or more of the nodes in a subsequent layer based on the plurality of cost components and the layer-specific weighting factors.

Methods and systems are described for predicting the likely causes of service outages using only time information, and for predicting and the likely costs of service outages. The likely causes are found by defining a narrow likely cause window around an outage based on service quality and / or service usage data, and correlating service events to the likely cause window in the time domain to find a probability distribution for the events. The likely costs are found by measuring usage loss and duration for a given point during an outage and using cost component functions of the time and usage to extrapolate over the outage. These cause and cost predictions supply service administrators with tools for making more informed decisions about allocation of resources in preventing and correcting service outages.

The invention discloses a comprehensive energy system economic optimization scheduling method based on a micro-grid. The method comprises the steps that independent modeling is performed according toenergy production equipment, energy conversion equipment and energy storage equipment in a factory, and an energy supply structure for a comprehensive energy system based on an energy exchange networkis set up; considering a serial working mode and a parallel working mode of an ice storage air-conditioning system, a comprehensive energy system economic optimization scheduling model is further improved, so that the optimization model better meets the practical demand of a project; and optimization scheduling is performed on the micro-grid considering cold and hot electric balance constraint, equipment operation constraint and energy storage equipment constraint with minimum annual operation cost composed of operation and maintenance cost, electricity purchasing cost, fuel cost and stored energy depreciation cost being an optimization objective, and automatic optimization of the factory is realized. The method has the advantages that energy using efficiency at the user side is improved,energy using cost of a user is reduced, economic benefit and the energy utilization rate are increased, and the method is suitable for different types of industrial park comprehensive energy systems.

Disclosed is a method and device for a refrigerant-based thermal energy storage and cooling system with an isolated evaporator coil in a secondary cooling loop. The disclosed embodiments provide a refrigerant-based ice storage system with increased versatility, reliability, lower cost components, reduced power consumption and ease of installation.

Disclosed are a method and device for a refrigerant-based thermal energy storage and cooling system with isolated external melt cooling. The disclosed embodiments provide a refrigerant-based ice storage system with increased reliability, lower cost components, and reduced power consumption compared to a single phase system such as a glycol system.

A tool and methodology are described that can evaluate the trustworthiness of a system. In one embodiment, the system is classified in terms of the resources that constitute the system, the codes that apply to the system, the services produced by the system, the risks incurred by the system, and the costs associated with its use. A functional component of a trust decision to use the system involves a calculus to evaluate whether the probability that the services as a result of using the system will exceed the risks that may occur as valued by a user. The cost component of a trust decision includes an evaluation that the use of a system will occur at an acceptable cost and will produce economically acceptable results.

A computing system and methods for memory management are presented. A memory or an I / O controller receives a write request where the data two be written is associated with an address. Hint information may be associated with the address and may relate to memory characteristics such as an historical, O / S direction, data priority, job priority, job importance, job category, memory type, I / O sender ID, latency, power, write cost, or read cost components. The memory controller may interrogate the hint information to determine where (e.g., what memory type or class) to store the associated data. Data is therefore efficiently stored within the system. The hint information may also be used to track post-write information and may be interrogated to determine if a data migration should occur and to which new memory type or class the data should be moved.

The present invention is directed to a method of modeling a complex system, the model produced by such a method, and a method of optimizing a complex system by optimizing such a model. The first step in the modeling method is to identify the activities that comprise the process. Measurable drivers for each activity are identified. The costs associated with each driver are identified as fixed and, where appropriate, variable components. Each activity is then represented as a function of its driver's cost components. Relationships between the drivers that are relevant to more than one activity are derived. A function that represents the process is built using the derived relationships. The model (function) thus produced is an expression of the entire process in terms of variables that are drivers for more than one activity within the process. Optimizing the modeled process is accomplished by optimizing the model constructed as described above for certain selected objective(s). The model can be modified by changing constraints thus enabling the user to run through a large number of “what if” scenarios to determine what is the best solution under varying conditions.

Planar devices incorporating electrodes for performing chemical analyses are disclosed. The devices include an electrode module in a fluidic housing. The electrode module includes a carrier module and at least one electrode thereon. More specifically, the electrode module includes a planar carrier module made of a laminate of a metal layer and an insulator layer, which metal layer is divided into at least two metal conductor elements; and at least one electrode formed directly on the carrier module and including a membrane element for imparting chemical sensitivity to the electrode, the membrane element being applied to the insulator layer to be in electrical contact with one of the metal conductor elements through the insulator layer. The insulator layer preferably has die cut perforations through which the membrane element extends into electrical contact with the conductor layer. In the most economical embodiment, the carrier module is a common chip carrier according to ISO 7816-2. The devices of cheaper construction than prior art chemical analysis chips, especially since they are of much simplified construction and of standardized format which allows the use of readily available low cost components.

Disclosed are a method and device for a refrigerant-based thermal storage system wherein a condensing unit and an ice-tank heat exchanger can be isolated through a second heat exchanger. The disclosed embodiments provide a refrigerant-based ice storage system with increased reliability, lower cost components, and reduced power consumption compared to a single phase system such as a glycol system.

Motorcycle, marine, and racing components are formed of a conductive loaded resin-based material. The conductive loaded resin-based material comprises micron conductive powder(s), conductive fiber(s), or a combination of conductive powder and conductive fibers in a base resin host. The percentage by weight of the conductive powder(s), conductive fiber(s), or a combination thereof is between about 20% and 50% of the weight of the conductive loaded resin-based material. The micron conductive powders are metals or conductive non-metals or metal plated non-metals. The micron conductive fibers may be metal fiber or metal plated fiber. Further, the metal plated fiber may be formed by plating metal onto a metal fiber or by plating metal onto a non-metal fiber. Any platable fiber may be used as the core for a non-metal fiber. Superconductor metals may also be used as micron conductive fibers and / or as metal plating onto fibers in the present invention.

The present invention refers to a high performance system and method for data processing and storage, based on low cost components, which ensures the integrity and availability of the data for the administration of same, for its application in data centres, hospitals, schools, industries, libraries, technological centres, etc.

A multi-path digital power supply controller includes a first ADC (ADC1) coupled to the supply's output voltage Vout and arranged to provide an output which varies with Vout's low frequency components, and a second ADC (ADC2) coupled to Vout and arranged to provide an output which varies with Vout's high frequency components. A digital reference value is subtracted from the output of ADC1 to produce a low frequency digital error signal, and a summing circuit sums the low frequency digital error signal and the output of ADC2. Processing circuitry is arranged to produce an output which varies with the summed signal and is suitable for coupling to a power stage for use in regulating Vout. Preferably, ADC1 is a low-bandwidth high-resolution ADC and ADC2 is a high-bandwidth low-resolution ADC, both of which are low-cost components.

A method or a machine determines minimum (s) and maximum (S) inventory control levels (s, S) for inventory items based upon a demand history of the inventory items, such as demand inter-arrival times (IA) and demand requisition sizes (RS). An expected cost is computed including two or more inventory item cost components of expected cost of ordering, expected cost of carrying inventory, or expected cost of outstanding backorders for the inventory control levels (s, S), directly from frequency statistics of different demand IA and demand RS on an inventory item basis. An optimal inventory control level (s, S) of an inventory item is searched that minimizes the cost of ordering, carrying inventory, and / or backorders, based upon the generated expected cost.

When an audio distribution system is installed, it is normally required to install wiring between the audio source or sources, and all of the speakers that are installed throughout a building or structure. The installation of this wiring is normally time consuming and difficult, and can be a large cost component of the system installation. Therefore, there is a need for an audio distribution system that makes use of, and takes a benefit from, already installed electrical power wiring, or allows a lesser number of wires to be run where new installations are necessary, through the means of upgrading the system to provide uninterrupted power to the powered speakers while maintaining the ability to control lighting fixtures powered through the same wiring infrastructure.

The invention provides disintegratable film compositions for diagnostic test devices. The films are prepared with a combination of components that yield films of sufficient film strength and desired disintegration profiles. A disintegratable film according to the present invention contains a water soluble high molecular weight component, a water soluble low molecular weight component, and one or more reagents for use in a diagnostic device. Optionally, the films further contain a starch component, a glucose component, a plasticizer and / or a humectant, and / or a filler. The invention further provides a diagnostic testing device, which includes a film according to an embodiment of the invention, and methods of using such devices.

The invention discloses a method for scheduling an energy storage system in a micro-grid. The method comprises the following steps of: discretizing the state of the energy storage system in the micro-grid; forming a target function by using the operating cost of the micro-grid in a cycle; setting output and climbing constraint conditions of a distributed power supply, power and energy constraint conditions of the energy storage system, a power balancing constraint condition of the micro-grid and the like; and designing a dynamic programming algorithm, and on the premise that the constraint conditions are met, acquiring an optimal scheduling scheme of the energy storage system. For the characteristics of the micro-grid, the energy storage system is optimally scheduled, the operating cost of the micro-grid can be reduced, the permeability of renewable energy sources is improved, and benefits of the energy storage system are maximized.

Methods and apparatus are provided for driving a power amplifier load, such as a loudspeaker. The apparatus comprises a processor-controlled drive assembly configured as an H-bridge system. Groupings of half-bridge assemblies are connected to the load in an H-bridge structure, and are operated in pulse-width-modulation mode by the processor. The half-bridge assembly groupings receive time sliced commands from the processor in order to output a composite output signal to the load at a frequency higher than the operating frequency of a single half-bridge assembly. In general, the composite output frequency is the product of the individual half-bridge assembly operating frequency and the number of half-bridge assemblies in a grouping. As such, high frequency and high power output levels can be achieved using standard low-cost components.

Disclosed is a method and device for a refrigerant-based thermal energy storage and cooling system with multiple condensing units utilizing a common evaporator coil. The disclosed embodiments provide a refrigerant-based ice storage system with increased reliability, lower cost components, and reduced power consumption and ease of installation.

The invention relates to a forging and pressing thermal treatment integration device for additive manufacturing. The device comprises a heating component for heating a sedimentary layer, a forging andpressing component for forging the heating region, and a temperature measuring component for detecting the temperature of the heating region; the device further comprises a control component electrically linked to the heating component, the forging and pressing component and the temperature measuring component separately. The compactness of the additive manufacturing metal material can be greatlyimproved, the internal stress is eliminated, defects are reduced, the internal grain structure is controlled and improved, and therefore the mechanical performance of the material is improved; in addition, the technology has the high operability, the forging time and temperature can be controlled according to the technological requirement, and the device is applicable to more 3D printing modes.

A method or a machine determines minimum (s) and maximum (S) inventory control levels (s, S) for inventory items based upon a demand history of the inventory items, such as demand inter-arrival times (IA) and demand requisition sizes (RS). An expected cost is computed including two or more inventory item cost components of expected cost of ordering, expected cost of carrying inventory, or expected cost of outstanding backorders for the inventory control levels (s, S), directly from frequency statistics of different demand IA and demand RS on an inventory item basis. An optimal inventory control level (s, S) of an inventory item is searched that minimizes the cost of ordering, carrying inventory, and / or backorders, based upon the generated expected cost.

Techniques are disclosed for generating and transmitting a message from a first user (the “sender”) to a second user (the “recipient”) over a network. The message may, for example, include a sequence of graphical language elements selected by the sender using a first mobile communication device. The sender may select each of the graphical language elements from a graphical language by first selecting a category and then selecting a graphical symbol within the selected category. The resulting sequence of graphical language elements, also referred to as a “graphical language message,” may be displayed to the recipient by a second mobile communication device. The use of graphical language messages, rather than conventional messages consisting of text, may facilitate the processes of inputting, transmitting, and reading such messages. Furthermore, graphical language messages may be implemented in mobile communication devices using conventional, low-cost components.

Disclosed is a method and device for a refrigerant-based thermal energy storage and cooling system with multiple condensing units utilizing a common evaporator coil. The disclosed embodiments provide a refrigerant-based ice storage system with increased reliability, lower cost components, and reduced power consumption and ease of installation.

Methods and apparatus are provided for frequency and power scaling a drive assembly for a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor. The apparatus comprises multiple groups of half-bridge switching element assemblies connected to respective “In-Hand” phase windings of the BLDC. Each group of half-bridge assemblies receives time sliced commands from a processor so that the resultant frequency of the output drive signal can be higher than the frequency capability of an individual switching element. By effectively paralleling groups of half-bridge assemblies connected to respective In-Hand phase windings, the current delivered to the phase windings can be greater than the individual current capability of the switching elements in the half-bridge assemblies. The electromagnetic field generated in the “In-Hand” phase windings forces essentially equal current sharing in the respective driver switching elements. The disclosed techniques enable frequency and power scaling of motor drive assemblies using standard low-cost components.