Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120005093 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS - The present invention is a method for managing funds in anticipation of paying at least two financial obligations, such as an estimated tax payment and a mortgage payment. The due dates and amounts due are determined from customer financial information. During an escrow period leading up to the first obligation due date, amounts of money are transferred on at least two occasions from a customer account into a second account, whereby the combined value of the transferred amounts substantially matches the estimated tax or other amount due for the first obligation. The transfer amounts and/or timing are adjusted so as to maintain sufficient funds in the customer account for paying the other obligations. The transferred money is used to automatically pay the first obligation on or near the due date. In embodiments, the customer can access the money in the second account until the first financial obligation is paid. | 01-05-2012 |
20130173286 | METHOD FOR FACILITATING PHARMACEUTICAL COST SAVING BY PILL SPLITTING - A method for facilitating pill splitting includes evaluating prescription pills regarding their hardness, fragility, structural features such as encapsulation and/or time release, uniformity of composition, availability with scoring, and/or criticality of dosage to determine candidates for pill splitting. Pharmaceutical price databases can be reviewed for flat pricing to predict cost savings due to splitting of higher dosage pills. In embodiments, pharmacies are identified that are willing to score and/or split pills before dispensation. Guidelines for evaluating suitability of patients for patient pill splitting can also be included. The information is provided to doctors, and in embodiments also to medical insurers, government agencies, and/or patients. The information can be mailed, posted on a website, and/or sent by electronic messaging. Revenue can result from subscriptions, grants, and advertising. | 07-04-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120150739 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS - A method for reserving funds to pay an estimated tax or other financial obligation includes receiving by a service provider of financial information from a customer and transferring funds from a customer monetary source to a set-aside account, where the monetary source and/or the set-aside account is a stored value account. In embodiments, the customer can access the set-aside money if needed before it is used to pay the obligation. The set-aside account can be a stored value card provided to the customer and usable in lieu of a bank card. Stored value cards can be visibly distinct according to which of a plurality of obligations they apply. Or the set-aside account can be a stored value account maintained by the service provider as information in a database. Set-aside funds can be transferred automatically and/or electronically, or provided by the customer as cash or cash equivalents. | 06-14-2012 |
20130108372 | PORTABLE WATER-INFLATABLE BARRIER | 05-02-2013 |
20140058910 | METHOD FOR DETECTING IDENTITY MISREPRESENTATION IN FRAUDULENT TAX RETURNS - A method for detecting identity theft and other fraudulent information in a tax return or other document requesting a refund or payment includes extracting key information from the document, comparing the key information with data obtained from a database, and flagging the document for further consideration if the document does not meet a minimum threshold of credibility. The key information can include a name, social security number, address, place of employment, wage data, and/or fraction of income withheld for taxes. The database can contain suspicious fact patterns of known fraudulent documents. A document can be flagged due to a single fact pattern comparison or due to a combination thereof, or due to a data contradiction. Databases can include IRS databases, other non-public governmental databases, public governmental databases, and non-governmental databases. Fraud can also be detected by tracking use of the refund or payment after it is issued. | 02-27-2014 |
20140261192 | METHOD FOR INHIBITING SHORE EROSION - An apparatus and method for inhibiting shoreline erosion by introducing pre-established, self-sustaining, shoreline-tolerant vegetation. The vegetation, which can be sea grass, is allowed under controlled conditions to sprout and take root, or otherwise become fixed, to a biodegradable mat, which can be constructed from brown coir or from some other coir variety. When the vegetation is sufficiently matured to be self-sustaining, the mat is transferred to the shoreline, where in some embodiments it is draped over a naturally occurring or a man-made sand dune. Fertilizer and/or soil can be included with the mat. Bird roosting stakes can be planted with the mat to encourage birds to roost and provide natural fertilization. As the vegetation takes root in the underlying sand, the biodegradable mat slowly degrades and is absorbed non-destructively into the environment, leaving behind firmly established vegetation that provides self-sustaining erosion control without human maintenance. | 09-18-2014 |
20150125213 | PORTABLE WATER-INFLATABLE BARRIER WITH TRAVERSING LADDER - A portable, water-filled barrier is internally divided into cells and emulates a sandbag dike or wall without requiring sand or intensive labor to install. A rigid ladder spans the barrier to provide structural support and enable traversing of the barrier. The ladder can be attachable to the barrier. The light, flexible barrier material can include nanofiber. Automatic valves can seal openings between the filled cells, so that a punctured cell will not cause cells below and behind to deflate. Cells can project below the base into a stabilizing trench. Cells can include internal or external rods or plates that support the barrier structure. Some embodiments can be initially filled with air, positioned, and then filled with water while the air escapes through a pressure valve. Other embodiments are filled from above, and inflate and deflate without allowing air into the barrier. Barrier end structures can enable interlocking of adjacent units. | 05-07-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100036760 | FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTIVE ACCRUAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CALCULATING AND FACILITATING COMPLIANCE WITH TAXES AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS - A computer-based system and method calculates and facilitates revenue accrual, for making larger, less frequent payments of estimated taxes or other obligations. Payer preferences are applied to satisfy variable payment intervals, amounts, and available resources. The obligation, required payments, and set-aside schedules are recalculated as needed, under payer and/or system control. Excess accruals are minimized; set-aside schedules are configurable. The system may be self-contained, handheld, or accessed remotely. Automatic datalinks move information and command fund transfers from the payer's bank, to accrue funds and make payments to other accounts. A service host may support a plurality of payers to make set-asides and payments at various levels as needed, on an individual or batch basis, including individual taxpayer enrollment for batch file tax payments by service providers. Some embodiments can be embedded to enhance the capabilities of other systems. | 02-11-2010 |
20110145112 | FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTIVE ACCRUAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CALCULATING AND FACILITATING COMPLIANCE WITH TAXES AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS - A computer-based system and method calculates and facilitates revenue accrual, for making larger, less frequent payments of estimated taxes or other obligations. Payer preferences are applied to satisfy variable payment intervals, amounts, and available resources. The obligation, required payments, and set-aside schedules are recalculated as needed, under payer and/or system control. Excess accruals are minimized; set-aside schedules are configurable. The system may be self-contained, handheld, or accessed remotely. Automatic datalinks move information and command fund transfers from the payer's bank, to accrue funds and make payments to other accounts. A service host may support a plurality of payers to make set-asides and payments at various levels as needed, on an individual or batch basis, including individual taxpayer enrollment for batch file tax payments by service providers. Some embodiments can be embedded to enhance the capabilities of other systems. | 06-16-2011 |
20120109793 | FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTIVE ACCRUAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CALCULATING AND FACILITATING COMPLIANCE WITH TAXES AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS - A computer-based system and method calculates and facilitates periodic revenue accrual for making larger, less frequent payments of estimated taxes by electronic messaging. A service host enables a plurality of payers to make set-asides at various levels as needed, on an individual or batch basis. Payer preferences are applied to satisfy variable payment intervals, amounts, and available resources. The obligation, required payments, and set-aside schedules are recalculated as needed, under payer and/or system control. Excess accruals are minimized; set-aside schedules are configurable. Automatic data links move information and command fund transfers from the payer's bank, to accrue funds and make payments to other accounts. The service host provides individual or batch taxpayer enrollment with the taxing authority for tax payment by electronic messages, and makes the tax payments by transmission of individual payment messages or by batch file transmission to the taxing authority. | 05-03-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080218281 | Anodically Bonded Cell, Method for Making Same and Systems Incorporating Same - A cell suitable for use with an atomic clock and a method for making the same, the cell including: a silicon wafer having a recess formed therein; at least one amorphous silicate member having an ion mobility and temperature expansion coefficient approximately that of silicon sealing the recess; and, an alkali metal containing component and buffer gas contained in the recess. The method includes: providing a silicon wafer; forming a cavity through the silicon wafer; introducing an alkali metal containing component and buffer gas into the cavity; and, anodically bonding at least one amorphous silicate member having an ion mobility and temperature expansion coefficient approximately that of silicon to the wafer to close the cavity. | 09-11-2008 |
20090059980 | HIGH-STABILITY FREQUENCY REFERENCE BASED ON SELF-LOCKED ALKALI-VAPOR LASER - Embodiments of the invention are directed to an atomic-based frequency reference that includes an architecture that eliminates the need for local oscillator components and instead is implemented with a “photonic local oscillator,” that provides for a relatively low power consumption, compact, atomic clock/frequency reference. Such a system is based on a laser cavity which contains an alkali-vapor-cell within the laser cavity. The laser cavity is designed to oscillate in two or more optical wavelengths, with the frequency difference of these lasing wavelengths equal to the atomic hyperfine resonance frequency. Embodiments of the system can include relatively few elements, namely: a) an optical gain element with an emission band centered at the atomic absorption band; b) collimating optics; c) an atomic vapor cell; and d) a cavity end mirror. Optionally, specific polarization optics may be used depending on the specifics of the optical pumping. | 03-05-2009 |
20120056096 | Slab Scintillator With Integrated Double-Sided Photoreceiver - An article comprising a slab generating scintillation light in response to ionization event and formed with at least two sides. The ionization event is resulted from interaction of high-energy particles within a material of the slab between these sides. A photoreceiver sensitive to the scintillation light is integrated on each side of the slab in an optically-tight fashion. An arrangement is provided for analyzing signals resulted from the ionization event and generated by the photoreceivers. The photoreceivers and the analyzing arrangement are adapted for extracting a position of the ionization event within the slab material relative to the slab sides. A correcting arrangement is provided for correcting the signals and to provide attenuation of the scintillation light. | 03-08-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090066430 | BATCH-FABRICATED, RF-INTERROGATED, END TRANSITION, CHIP-SCALE ATOMIC CLOCK - A chip scale atomic clock is disclosed that provides a low power atomic time/frequency reference that employs direct RF-interrogation on an end-state transition. The atomic time/frequency reference includes an alkali vapor cell containing alkali atoms, preferably cesium atoms, flex circuits for physically supporting, heating, and thermally isolating the alkali vapor cell, a laser source for pumping alkali atoms within the alkali vapor cell into an end resonance state by applying an optical signal along a first axis, a photodetector for detecting a second optical signal emanating from the alkali vapor cell along the first axis, a pair of RF excitation coils for applying an RF-interrogation signal to the alkali atoms along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, a pair of bias coils for applying a uniform DC magnetic field along the first axis, and a pair of Zeeman coils for applying a Zeeman interrogation signal to the alkali atoms and oriented and configured to apply a time-varying magnetic field along the second axis through the alkali vapor cell. Another flex circuit is used for physically supporting the laser source, for heating the laser source, and for providing thermal isolation of the laser source. The laser source can be a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VSCEL). The bias coils can be Helmholtz coils. | 03-12-2009 |
20110274130 | SINGLE RIDGE N-P-N DIODE LASER - The present disclosure relates to a diode laser and a method for producing the same. In one embodiment, the diode laser, comprises a passive pedestal layer structure, an active ridge layer structure positioned over the passive pedestal layer structure, a p-contact contacting a top side of the active ridge layer structure, a first n-contact disposed on a first side of the active ridge layer structure, a second n-contact disposed on a second side of the active ridge layer structure and, an n-final-metal layer connecting the first n-contact metal and the second n-contact metal, wherein the n-final-metal layer is continuous over the active ridge layer structure. | 11-10-2011 |