50th week of 2012 patent applcation highlights part 53 |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20120316962 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR MANAGING MULTIDIMENSIONAL LIFE STREAM RELATED ACTIVE NOTE(S) AND ASSOCIATED MULTIDIMENSIONAL ACTIVE RESOURCES AND ACTIONS - The present invention relates device, system and method for facilitating receiving active note(s) from active note(s) provider(s) from the client device and responding multidimensional active resources & actions(s) for said active note(s) by multidimensional active resources & actions(s) provider(s) to the client device. A real time and/or near real communication mechanism such as online, smart and mobile communication applications like web site, smart client, instant messaging, e-mail may be used to communicate with a client device and a community of responders or multidimensional active resources & actions(s) provider(s). One or more Active Note(s) are received from client devices, processed, and sent to responders. Responses from the responders are received, and response is sent to the client device. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316963 | Method and System for Communicating Location of a Mobile Device for Hands-Free Payment - Certain aspects of a method and system for communicating location of a mobile device for hands-free payment may include a peer-to-peer ad-hoc network that comprises a plurality of mobile devices, a plurality of access points, and a plurality of point of sale (POS) devices. A first mobile device may determine its location coordinates and communicate them to a selected POS device via the peer to peer ad-hoc network. At least one of the plurality of mobile devices and/or the plurality of access points may be within a defined proximity of the selected POS device. In some instances, the first POS device may receive via one or more intermediate mobile devices in the peer-to-peer ad-hoc network, location coordinates and payment transaction information of a selected mobile device. At least one of the intermediate mobile devices may be within a defined proximity of the first POS device. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316964 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AGGREGATING AND DISSEMINATING MOBILE DEVICE TAG DATA - A computer-implemented method for aggregating and disseminating tag data is provided. The method includes receiving a tag generated at a particular time from a particular mobile device. Data indicative of a particular location of the particular mobile device is received corresponding to the particular time. The tag is associated with the location indicative data of the particular mobile device. Data indicative of a location of one or more other mobile devices is received, and data indicative of the tag is transmitted to the one or more other mobile devices in response to the location indicative data of the one or more other mobile devices corresponding to the location indicative data of the particular mobile device. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316965 | DYNAMIC TARGETED ADVERTISING IN CLIENT-SERVER TOPOLOGY - A network device in a customer premises network collects profile data for a client device of multiple client devices in the customer premises network and sends the client profile data to a remote provider network. The network device receives, from the remote provider network, a group of advertisement files for targeted advertising to the client device and stores, in a memory, the group of advertisement files. The network device detects an advertisement insertion cue in linear program content being streamed to the client device, selects an advertisement file from the stored group of advertisement files, and inserts the selected advertisement file into the linear program content being streamed to the client device. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316966 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADVERTISEMENT DELIVERY IN WIRELESS NETWORKS - The invention provides for advertising content selection, presentation, and statistics reporting at a wireless user terminal. The invention includes a method for selecting a subset of advertising content for presentation at the wireless user terminal. The invention includes a method for presenting advertising content at a wireless user terminal in response to one or more conditions detected at the wireless user terminal. The invention includes a method for collecting advertising content presentation statistics and providing the advertising content presentation statistics to at least one network system. In one embodiment, the invention may include one or more of the advertising content selection, presentation, and statistics reporting functions. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316967 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROFILE FILTERED ADVERTISEMENTS - Embodiments of the present invention include improved communication system and methods. In one embodiment, the present invention includes a wireless communication method comprising, on a first wireless device, receiving one or more wireless device identifications associated with one or more other wireless devices, and transmitting at least one of the one or more wireless device identifications from the first wireless device to a remote computer system, and on the remote computer system, receiving the at least one wireless device identification, and accessing information associated with the at least one wireless device identification. Embodiments of the present invention may be used for electronic dating, social networking and other communication applications. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316968 | CULINARY FOOD AND RELATED CULINARY PRODUCTS METHOD AND EDUCATIONAL TEACHING SYSTEM - A method and educational teaching system to make interactive and customized culinary food and related culinary products demonstrations directly available to end users, including consumers and vendors. At the end user's convenience and choice of location the end user controls the interactive informational and educational demonstrations of culinary food and related culinary products via communication networks. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316969 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADVERTISEMENT RANKING AND DISPLAY - A system in communication with a viewer database having at least one viewer profile. The viewer profile including a plurality of scalars corresponding with preferential demographic data. The system also including an advertisements database having a plurality of scalars associated with advertisement content data and product data. The system further including a process for matching viewers with relevant advertisements by comparing the scalars of the viewer profile with the corresponding scalars of advertisement database data. The system is configured to operationally incorporate viewer behavior to refine a comparison of viewer profiles scalars with advertisement database data scalars. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316970 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TARGETED CONTENT - An arrangement for providing targeted content includes data repositories storing information from which targeted content may be selected. The data repositories store at least one contextual relationship graph. The arrangement also includes an input/output interface through which a request for targeted content is made. The arrangement further includes a controller that receives the request for targeted content and selects targeted content using the contextual relationship graph. The controller further provides the selected targeted content through the input/output interface. An arrangement for determining the relative strength of a classification for a group of words includes memory for storing a contextual relationship graph for a given classification and a processor that receives the contextual relationship graph and a plurality of words to be analyzed by the processor, identifies occurrences of the relationships identified in the contextual relationship graph and determines the relative strength of classification based on the identified occurrences. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316971 | ADVERTISING SYSTEM SUPPORTING DUAL INPUT INTERFACES - An online sales/automatic rebate and coupon redemption system provides online customers automatic retrieval and redemption of all applicable rebates and coupons during purchase. Purchase orders from customers are selectively fulfilled and products are shipped to the customers either by the system for online sales with automatic rebate and coupon redemption or by other merchant or manufacturer environments. The system purchases from merchants using applicable coupons and rebates and then sells the products to the customers, passing the savings to them. The system makes it possible to automatically retrieve coupons and rebates for items in a shopping cart during the activity of an online purchase at an electronic mall or an online merchant site. The system provides coupons to potential customers via email, based on customer profile, geographical information, etc. Manufacturers and merchants can update coupon value and content based on ongoing sales and volume of customer activity. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316972 | INTELLIGENT FEATURE EXPANSION OF ONLINE TEXT ADS - Embodiments employ knowledge from network searches to enrich features useable to describe an advertisement. Advertisement content may be segmented to generate key phrases that are rank ordered based on a phrase's pointwise mutual information value with Ad keywords and term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) scores. These key phrases are employed to generate a plurality of query searches that are performed to generate a plurality of search result snippets. The snippets are then analyzed and ranked to identify query expansion features having a TF-IDF value over a given threshold. A subset of these ranked phrases are combined with the Ad keywords to be used to rebuild an Ad index for the given advertisement. When content is to be delivered to a client device, content keywords are compared to the Ad index to select an advertisement to be provided with the content to the client device. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316973 | SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR ALLOWING AN EXPERT TO PROVIDE EXPERTISE - Method, system, and computer program product for the allowing distribution of expertise by an expert to individual consumers, or multiple end users. The expertise is made available to the users who can apply the experts knowledge to their individual situation. The expert creates an intelligent questionnaire. Answers to questions are assigned values, which are then input to function(s) that represent the knowledge of the expert. The function's output is mapped to a narrative(s) or graphics, to create a conclusion(s). The conclusion(s) is presented to the end user. The questionnaire operates on a processor, which presents a user interface through which the end user may receive questions, provide answers, and receive conclusions. The expert may provide access to the intelligent questionnaire either directly to an end user, or through one or more intermediate parties. Access to the intelligent questionnaire may be provided for a fee. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316974 | INTERNET DIRECTORY SYSTEM - Improved Internet Directory System including an upper-level Directory Provider referencing a plurality of independently owned for-profit Category Directory Websites, the Category Directory Websites referencing websites relating to a category and being identified as participating in the System by at least a mark or URL, and including a business model imposed on the Category Directory Websites. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316975 | Systems and methods for electronic gifting - Disclosed herein are systems and methods for electronic gifting. In an exemplary gift purchasing method, a control system receives from a purchasing system a gift purchase request that includes a mobile telephone number (or other unique telephonic identifier) associated with a wireless gift recipient system, sends to a payment authorization system a payment authorization request, receives a payment authorization, and notifies the wireless gift recipient system of an electronic gift certificate. In an exemplary gift redemption method, the control system receives a gift redemption request for goods/services from a point-of-sale (POS) system, sends an authentication request addressed to the wireless gift recipient system by way of text message or other format, receives an authentication confirmation originating from the wireless gift recipient, and sends a redemption authorization to the vendor POS system. The control system has modules for conducting a targeted marketing campaign utilizing purchase and/or redemption information. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316976 | TRANSACTION CARD PROCESSING SYSTEM AND METHOD - A transaction card processing system including at least one server, at least one point of sale device for processing transactions using a transaction card and a database storing processing fee information for various categories of transaction cards, at least one of the at least one server and the at least one point of sale device being responsive to entry of a transaction card identifier via one of the at least one point of sale device for ascertaining processing fee information for the transaction card by accessing the database and for ascertaining whether the processing fee information exceeds a predetermined threshold and in the event of exceedance of the threshold to cause the point of sale device at which the entry took place to provide a notification responsive to the exceedance. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316977 | COMMODITY SALES DATA PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A commodity sales data processing apparatus receives input of a comprehension degree which indicates the comprehension degree of a customer purchasing the commodity whose explanation is required by a salesperson if the sales data of the commodity whose explained is required by the salesperson is input through an input unit, and stores an information indicating the comprehension degree received in association with an identification information of at least one of the commodity and the salesperson. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316978 | INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF A JEWELRY COLLECTION - A method, system and computer readable media for inventory management and control of a jewelry collection includes the steps of providing a jewelry tracking identifier for at least one piece of jewelry and providing a user identifier of at least one user. The method further includes tracking a usage by the at least one user of the at least one piece of jewelry via the jewelry tracking identifier via the user identifier, and determining a balance of time remaining of the at least one user based at least in part upon the tracked usage. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316979 | Method of Developing Flight Infrastructure in Conjunction with a Sale of an Aircraft - A method for providing WAAS infrastructure in conjunction with the sale of a WAAS enabled aircraft includes developing a sales package for a customer. The price of the sales package preferably includes a WAAS enabled aircraft and a WAAS infrastructure. The method further includes assembling a WAAS enabled aircraft and developing the WAAS infrastructure using a computer. The method also includes providing the customer with the WAAS enabled aircraft and the WAAS infrastructure. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316980 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPROVED ONLINE AUCTION - Methods and systems for improving auction-based online commerce are provided, including methods and systems for facilitating advance, rapid, accurate estimation of shipping costs between a seller and the winner of an online auction. Methods and systems include an application for facilitating seller estimation of shipping costs, including various components of shipping costs, and for providing to the buyer a shipping estimate based on the circumstances of the buyer and the auction. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316981 | HIGH-RISK PROCUREMENT ANALYTICS AND SCORING SYSTEM - A procurement analysis system may include a network interface to interface with one or more data sources over a network to receive procurement data and a data storage device to store model building data sets determined from the procurement data. A model generator module may determine procurement scoring models from the model building data sets, and a procurement risk analysis module may determine an evaluation capacity to review bids for a procurement, and evaluate bids for the procurement based on the procurement scoring models and the evaluation capacity to identify high-risk procurements associated with the evaluated bids. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316982 | SPECIFICATION SETTING SYSTEM, SPECIFICATION SETTING METHOD, AND SPECIFICATION SETTING PROGRAM - An object is to easily set product specifications according to a client's requirements. A specification setting system ( | 2012-12-13 |
20120316983 | GIFT CARD INFORMATION SHARING SYSTEM AND METHODS - Information sharing enhances the utility and effectiveness of gift-card transactions. A website enables a user to purchase or activate gift cards and compile recipient contact information to establish a gift network of the gift recipients. Information may be entered in relation to the interests or preferences of the gift recipients in the gift network. Product brands, services or merchants may be recommended to the user, and the user may be made aware of events, deals or promotions related to the interests and preferences of potential recipients in the gift network. Users are able to make a more informed choice regarding the purchase or activation of gift cards for recipients in the user's gift network, and manufacturers and merchants are provided with more effective advertising and selling tools. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316984 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR INTERACTING WITH NETWORKED HOME APPLIANCES - An appliance having a processing device and at least one sensor in communication with the processing device gathers data indicative of usage of a consumable with the appliance. The gathered data is used to determine an amount of the consumable remaining and, when the amount of the consumable remaining is at a predetermined level, a notification is provided to indicate to a user that the consumable needs to be replaced. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316985 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RECOMMENDING A DEFAULT SIZE OF A WEARABLE ITEM BASED ON INTERNAL DIMENSIONS - A system for recommending a size of a wearable item implements a method that includes identifying a reference wearable item and a size for the reference wearable item. The system accesses a wearable item database and retrieves a three-dimensional model of the reference wearable item. The system also receives, via a user interface, a functional requirement. The system accesses the wearable item database and identifies set of candidate objects, each of which satisfies the functional requirement. Based on the size of the reference wearable item, the system will determine a size for each of the candidate objects. The system will select at least one of the plurality of candidate objects as a recommended object and presents each recommended object and the size of each recommended object to a user. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316986 | More Improvements in Recommendation Systems - This invention deals with more improvements in recommendation systems. Retailers want to grow their business and increase sales. One embodiment creates upsell by arranging similar items by price. Another embodiment creates similar items by calculating the number of shared attributes. A final embodiment shows how recently viewed items affect cross-sell, similar and personalized recommendations to make more relevant recommendations | 2012-12-13 |
20120316987 | IMPLANT INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - An inventory data management system manages information related to items, such as implants, used during a medical procedure. The inventory data management system includes multiple sensing devices for reading set identification information from a container in which the set of items is disposed. The sensing devices are connected to a communication network and are placed in multiple locations, where each location is associated with a particular status of the set of items. The system also includes an inventory management computer that executes an inventory management application for receiving the set identification information from the communication network, and associating the set identification information with set status information based on the location of the sensing device that read the set identification information. An item inventory database stores the set identification information in association with the set status information. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316988 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ONLINE SEARCHING AND PURCHASING OF MULTIPLE PRODUCTS SIMULTANEOUSLY - A system and method for searching for multiple products simultaneously on the Internet is provided. The system identifies a plurality of optimum purchasing alternatives based on predetermined criteria and allows the consumer to select amongst the purchasing alternatives to purchase the desired products. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316989 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR FACILITATING COMPARISON SHOPPING WITH GEOGRAPHICALLY-SPECIFIC, REAL-TIME PRODUCT INVENTORY INFORMATION - Consistent with some embodiments of the invention, a web-based comparison shopping and marketplace service enables a user to search for and/or browse products of interest, and then obtain geographically-relevant, real-time product availability and pricing information for a product of interest that is offered by one or more physical retail stores. Additionally, with some embodiments, the service enables a user to conclude a purchase transaction for a product that is located at a retail store, and then provides the user with driving directions from the user's location to the retail store. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316990 | Evaluating Merchant Trustworthiness - Merchants are classified according to their reliability in shipping purchased products when promised. A merchant trustworthiness evaluator (MTE) automatically gathers data from users about purchases online from a merchant, including an order identifier and an estimated ship date. In one embodiment, the MTE collects data from customers about their purchases through the use of a conversion pixel, transmitted to the customer by the merchant at the time of purchase. The MTE obtains shipment information from the merchant or shipment carrier once an order has been shipped. The MTE correlates the shipment data with the order data and compares for each order the estimated or promised and actual shipment dates. The MTE scores merchants and classifies each merchant based on its score. Merchant classifications can then be provided to prospective customers. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316991 | Evaluating Merchant Trustworthiness - Merchants are classified according to their reliability in shipping purchased products when promised. A merchant trustworthiness evaluator (MTE) automatically gathers data from users about purchases online from a merchant, including an order identifier and an estimated ship date. In one embodiment, the MTE collects data from customers about their purchases through the use of a conversion pixel, transmitted to the customer by the merchant at the time of purchase. The MTE obtains shipment information from the merchant or shipment carrier once an order has been shipped. The MTE correlates the shipment data with the order data and compares for each order the estimated or promised and actual shipment dates. The MTE scores merchants and classifies each merchant based on its score. Merchant classifications can then be provided to prospective customers. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316992 | PAYMENT PRIVACY TOKENIZATION APPARATUSES, METHODS AND SYSTEMS - The PAYMENT PRIVACY TOKENIZATION APPARATUSES, METHODS AND SYSTEMS (“PPT”) transform payment token-based purchase orders via PPT components into multi-issuer purchase payment funds transfers. In one embodiment, the PPT obtains a token arbitration request including unique source-neutral universally-resolvable payment token information from a merchant for processing a purchase order from a user. The PPT queries a token database for issuer information on an issuer using the payment token information, and obtains the issuer information. The PPT also determines that the user should be queried for payment options based on the issuer information, and provides a payment options request to a user mobile device. Upon obtaining a response from the mobile device, the PPT generates a purchase authorization request based on the payment options and pre-defined settings for issuers to be contacted for processing the purchase order, and provides the generated purchase authorization request to the issuer. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316993 | Method and system for pricing and exchange of streams of data stored on tags readable by electronic means, streams of data in digital messages, and streams of data from electronic devices - The invention provides a method and system to enable buyers and sellers of data items associated with data streams housed on electronically readable data tags or data streams contained within digitally transmissible messages or data streams generated by devices capable of implementing computer readable code to set, manage, and collect fees for the one or a plurality of data items and for the processing, collection, and posting of the one or a plurality of data items. It further provides a method for collection of fees and posting data from data streams to datasets through electronic devices capable of implementing computer readable code. It further provides a method for electronic devices capable of implementing computer readable code to write data into electronic messages or onto electronically readable data tags or to other electronic devices capable of running computer readable code. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316994 | CUSTOMIZABLE RETAIL SYSTEM WITH REVENUE SHARING - Disclosed are methods, processes, systems, apparatuses, and non-transitory, tangible computer-readable media for facilitating online sales of goods and services, including revenue sharing with non-profit organizations, such as schools or charities. In various embodiments, a revenue-sharing retail system facilitates an organization in proving an online retail interface through which goods or services can be purchased. In various embodiments, the online retail interface may be skinned to look and act like a website for the organization. In various embodiments, the goods or services provided for sale by the revenue-sharing retail system may be specialized goods or services which are associated with the organization, common stock items which carry no particular association, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments, the revenue-sharing retail system may share a portion of revenues received for the goods and/or services with the organization. In various embodiments, the revenue-sharing retail system may facilitate fulfillment of the goods or services. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316995 | METHOD AND SYSTEM OF DISPLAYING, MANAGING AND SELLING IMAGES IN AN EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY ENVIRONMENT - A system and method for providing digital images to an event guest sometime after the event is provided where at least a portion of event photos are purchased before or during the event. Copy protected versions of the digital images are delivered to the guest who can copy and save a predetermined number of digital images based on their digital image purchase. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316996 | METHOD FOR MANAGING AN ONLINE MARKET AND ONLINE MARKET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING THE METHOD - An online market management system includes a Role Mapping Server, a Goods Posting Server and Revenue Sharing Server. The Role Mapping Server is configured to map a requester as a participant in a multi-layer and multi-branch growth model. Here, the multi-layer and multi-branch growth model is classified into a root belonging to a first layer, a leaf belonging to a bottom layer, and a branch belonging to an intermediate layer to be disposed between the root and the leaf. The Goods Posting Server is configured to post a good into a Platform. The Revenue Sharing Server is configured to share revenue generated in accordance with a sale of a corresponding good with a posting participant posting the good, a selling participant selling the good and a recruiting participant recruiting the selling participant when the good is sold, based on the multi-layer and multi-branch growth model. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316997 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTRODUCING A BUYER TO THE SELLER OF A VEHICLE USING INFORMATION COLLECTED WHEN ASSESSING THE TRADE-IN VALUE OF THE VEHICLE - A system and method fill a void between the wholesale, retail and private party markets for vehicles, bringing together private party buyers with sellers who rejected a trade-in value for a vehicle from a dealership. The system comprises a dealership computer into which vehicle information is entered for ascertaining a trade-in value for the vehicle. A private party computer is located remotely from the dealership computer but connected to the dealership computer to publish the vehicle information on the private party computer to solicit a private party buyer for the vehicle. The method comprises the step of a dealership publishing the vehicle information on a computer network so that the information is searchable by remotely located private party buyers. The dealership receives notice that the private party buyer may be interested in buying the vehicle, and notifies the customer. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316998 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING AND ACCESSING MEMORABILIA - A computer based system for management of memorabilia including a processor coupled to memory and an input-output controller, a data store in communication with the processor, an input device coupled to the input-output controller and a display device coupled to the input-output controller. The memory includes at least one algorithm comprising an initial processing section configured to upload a plurality of images and audio files having a plurality of data file formats. The memory includes an organization and storage section configured to determine at least one location within the data store for storage of each of the plurality of images and audio files. The memory also includes an access and display section configured for at least one of creating, retrieving, viewing, moving, annotating and transmitting the images and audio files. | 2012-12-13 |
20120316999 | SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS FOR VIRTUAL COLLECTIBLE GENERATION, TRADING, PURCHASING, AND MANAGEMENT - Embodiments of the disclosure include systems, methods, and devices for generating, purchasing, and managing virtual collectibles (VCs) using a software platform. Embodiments take advantage of the capabilities of the Internet as a medium for users to exchange goods and couples the recent advancement in 3-D rendering technology to provide a virtual marketplace for collectors to purchase, sell, trade and manage (manipulate and control) VCs. Aspects of the disclosure include generating a VC by scanning a physical collectible, rendering a 3-D digital copy of the physical collectible, and enhancing virtual characteristics of the 3-D digital copy. A unique encrypted digital string may be generated based on the virtual characteristics. Also, unique digital string may be encoded into virtual characteristics such that the VC is the enhanced 3-D digital copy of the physical collectible encoded with the unique digital string. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317000 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO VISUALIZE LOCATIONS OF RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID) TAGGED ITEMS - Methods and apparatus to visualize locations of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagged items are described. One example method includes receiving a request from a portable electronic device to access product information associated with an individual radio frequency identification (RFID) tagged item, determining a location of the product information in a database, transmitting the located product information to the portable electronic device for display thereon, receiving modified product information associated with the individual RFID tagged item from the portable electronic device, and storing the modified product information to the location of the product information in the database. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317001 | IMPLANT INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - An inventory management system manages information related to items, such as implants, used during a medical surgical procedure. The inventory management system includes an inventory management computer and an item inventory database. The inventory management computer executes an inventory management application to process item usage information. The item usage information includes item identification information and quantity information for each item used during performance of the medical surgical procedure. The inventory management application associates the item usage information with a particular surgical case at a particular customer surgical facility. The inventory management computer receives the item usage information from a customer computer at the customer surgical facility via a wide area network, such as the Internet. The item inventory database, which is in communication with the inventory management computer, stores item inventory information reflecting the inventory of items at the customer surgical facility. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317002 | ACCOUNTING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING DEVICE, AND ACCOUNTING METHODS THEREOF - An accounting method for an image forming device is provided, which includes installing an accounting application, an accounting manager provided on a platform of the image forming device storing information on the installed accounting application in a storage unit, displaying information on the whole accounting applications stored in the storage unit if a start command for an image forming job is input, receiving a selection of one accounting application among the displayed information, performing the image forming job if it is possible for the selected accounting application to perform accounting for the image forming job, and performing the accounting according to an accounting policy of the selected accounting application if the image forming job is completed. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317003 | AUTOMATED EXPENSE ACCOUNT REPORT GENERATOR - An automated expense account report generator. Upon occurrence of a purchase transaction initiated using a transaction card by a user, the automated expense account report generator initiates transmission of a communication (e.g., a text message) to the user. The user responds to the communication (e.g., via text message) to provide transaction data corresponding to the purchase transaction. The transaction data is automatically processed to create an expense account entry in an expense account report including the transaction data provided by the user. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317004 | UTILITY BILL AUDIT - A system, computer-implemented method, and a computer program product are provided for a utility bill audit. Measured data is input from meters. Utility provider information is input. The utility provider information includes utility provider sub-costs and utility provider variables. System data is generated based on the measured data. The system data includes system sub-costs and system variables. If a utility provider sub-cost differs from a corresponding system sub-cost by more than a selected sub-cost error threshold, whether a utility provider variable differs from a corresponding system variable by more than a selected variable error threshold is determined. A user interface outputs a notice regarding whether utility provider information differs from corresponding system data. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317005 | System and Method for Prepay Account Management System - A prepay account management system having a prepay customer database operable to store a prepay customer account balance and an estimated usage data of a prepay customer. The system has a data link operable to transmit the prepay customer account balance and an actual usage data of the prepay customer between the prepay account management system and the billing system. Additionally, the system has a prepay server operable to receive the transmitted prepay customer account balance and the actual usage data, the prepay server operable to receive replenishing payment amounts. The prepay server also operable to update a current balance of the prepay customer account in response to the estimated usage data and the replenishing payment amounts and to reconcile a balance of the prepay customer account with the actual usage data of the prepay customer by comparing the estimated usage data with the actual usage data. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317006 | LEGAL BILLING ENHANCEMENT METHOD AND APPARATUS - A method of creating a finalized invoice by creating a preliminary invoice showing activities accomplished, submitting the preliminary invoice to an automated rules engine, searching the preliminary invoice for keywords that define possible violations of a company's litigation billing guidelines, highlighting any invoice task that contains identified keywords that would define a possible violation of a company's litigation billing guidelines, querying a user to accept changes based upon identified keywords, and modifying the preliminary invoice into the finalized invoice after accepting the changes. Using the searchable database to create reports that provide average rates charged by law firms on specific types of legal matters in all geographic areas, reports to evaluate which tasks are not being fully compensated by a specific company or legal auditing system, reports to evaluate the average cost to defend specific types of cases in specific jurisdictions. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317007 | BILLING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, BILLING MANAGEMENT APPARATUS, BILLING INFORMATION RECORDING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A management system is implemented by one or more information processing apparatuses connected via a network to one or more execution apparatuses that execute processes constituting a process flow. The management system includes a first registration unit that registers, in a storage unit, an information structure that is generated when the process flow is executed and that is used to store at least one of billing information and an execution result of each of the processes in the process flow. The system also includes a receiving unit that receives at least one of the billing information and the execution result from each of the execution apparatuses. Further, the system includes a second registration unit that registers at least one of the billing information and the execution result received by the receiving unit in the information structure. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317008 | Computer-Implemented Systems And Methods For Handling And Scoring Enterprise Data - Systems and methods for storing transaction data associated with transactions of disparate types are provided. Transaction data is received describing a transaction that has occurred, the transaction being performed by an customer of a particular customer type and the transaction being performed using a channel of a particular channel type. Transaction data about the customer is stored in an customer segment according to one of a plurality of customer templates, the one of the plurality of customer templates being selected according to the customer type. Transaction data about the channel is stored in a channel segment according to one of a plurality of channel templates, the one of the plurality of channel templates being selected according to the channel type. Data from the customer segment, the activity segment, and the channel segment for the transaction is extracted and scored by a predictive model. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317009 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING, CONTRACTING TO EXCHANGE, AND ACCOUNTING FOR MATCHED SETS OF OFFSETTING CASH FLOWS - Among other embodiments, methods and systems are disclosed for determining one or more sets of structured cash flows corresponding to a graph having one or more nodes corresponding to one or more exchange definitions or swap transactions. The net present value of a structured cash flow may be substantially zero, and may correspond to a maximum notional amount, a maximum flow, or a minimum cut. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317010 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ROUTING TRADING ORDERS - Systems and methods are provided for routing trading orders. The system determines that a first trading entity disclosed to the trading platform a reserve quantity of a first trading order received from the first entity. The system determines that a second trading entity did not disclose a reserve quantity of a second trading order received from the second trading entity. The system receives a third trading order. Based on these determinations, the system preferences the first trading entity over the second trading entity in the routing of trading orders, e.g., by routing the third trading order to the first trading entity. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317011 | Generating Market Information Based On Causally Linked Events - Certain embodiments provide systems, apparatus, and methods to analyze incoming data messages and create market information constructs. An example method includes receiving a data message including an instruction to initiate a market event. The example method includes evaluating the instruction to determine whether it is associated with two or more causally linked market events. The example method also includes classifying the instruction based on the evaluating as part of a sequence of causally linked market events or as a single market event. The example method includes queuing the sequence of causally linked market events. The example method further includes detecting an end of the sequence of causally linked market events. The example method includes constructing a logically reduced market data message construct descriptive of the one or more market events represented by the queued sequence of causally linked events. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317012 | Methods And Apparatus For Optimizing The Distribution Of Trading Executions - The present invention relates to electronic trading of securities. In some embodiments, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for optimizing the distribution of trading executions in an investor's accounts. Pursuant to some embodiments, as integer allocation algorithm is provided. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317013 | Computer-Implemented Systems And Methods For Scoring Stored Enterprise Data - Systems and methods are provided for scoring transaction data representative of transactions of disparate types transaction data describing a transaction that has occurred is received. The transaction data is stored in a plurality of segments, where a segment is formatted according to a template, where the template is selected based on an attribute of the transaction, and where the attribute is a customer attribute, an activity attribute, or a channel attribute. Transaction data associated with a segment is aggregated based on a particular attribute. The aggregate transaction data is provided to a predictive model to generate a fraud score. New transaction data is received describing a new transaction, wherein the new transaction includes the particular attribute. A real-time score is provided indicating a likelihood of fraud for the new transaction, wherein the score is based at least in part on the fraud score generated using the aggregate transaction data. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317014 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ACTIVELY OPTIMIZING A CREDIT SCORE AND MANAGING/REDUCING DEBT - The invention provides various systems and methods for actively optimizing a credit score and reducing debt. The method includes receiving a credit report including credit accounts, balances, interest rates, and rate types for the credit accounts. The method further receives bank account and payroll information, as well as fixed and variable expense information. The method then generates a financial report based on the received information. Based on the financial report, the method calculates a payment amount, and determines available unassigned income. An allocation of the available income for debt reduction and credit score optimization is received, and the method dynamically allocates the funds to pay the credit accounts, the fixed expenses, and variable expenses such that the customer's debt is reduced and the customer's credit score is improved. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317015 | Loan Management System and Methods - A system for managing loans and loan leads is described. The loan and loan lead management system features software and hardware that permit loan applications to be received, submitted, and processed in an automated electronic process while also generating leads based on loan applicants whose loan applications are rejected or withdrawn that may be sold to other lenders. Another module of the system's software permits loan applicant information to be cross-checked against databases containing details concerning defaulted borrowers to enhance the ability of lenders to engage in collection efforts against debtors. The system may also be installed at a retail location to provider store-level loan application submission and processing that can generate resalable leads that can be transmitted by a system administrator to lead purchasers. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317016 | System and Method for Trading Debt Instruments - A system for facilitating debt instrument transactions has a processor for communication with a plurality of remote computers via a network. The processor is configured to store a data structure in a memory. The data structure has data items associated together as a user profile. The data items comprise data representative of a financial condition and creditworthiness for a user associated with the user profile. The processor is further configured to complete a debt instrument transaction between the user and a lender in response to inputs from a plurality of the remote computers. The processor is further configured to detect the completed debt instrument transaction, and in response to detection of the completed debt instrument transaction, automatically update the stored user profile based on the completed debt instrument transaction and republish the updated user profile so a lender may extend an offer to the user regarding another debt instrument transaction. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317017 | Creation, Redemption, and Accounting In a Virtual Currency System - A virtual currency system keeps track of virtual credits, which can be owned, transferred, purchased, and sold by participants in a virtual economy. Each virtual credit has an internal value and an external value, which define, respectively, the exchange rates for creating and redeeming the virtual credits. Upon creation of new virtual credits, the internal value for those credits is the rate for which real currency was paid per credit. The external value sets the rate at which the virtual credits can be redeemed for real currency. Each virtual credit may further have a face value, which is an apparent value of the virtual credit within the virtual economy, giving users a baseline impression for valuing the virtual currency. These features of the virtual currency enable a number of useful actions within the virtual economy, including currency seeding, couponing, and chargebacks. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317018 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROTECTING ACCOUNT IDENTIFIERS IN FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS - In a system for protecting account identifiers in financial transactions, a consumer provides an account identifier to be used for purchasing a good or service from a merchant. However, only a portion of the account identifier is transmitted to the merchant. The remaining portion of the account identifier is transmitted to a server, referred to as a “payment facilitator,” that is not controlled by the merchant. During the financial transaction, the merchant submits a request for financial payment containing a portion of the consumer's account identifier to the payment facilitator. The payment facilitator combines the account identifier portion in the request with the account identifier portion transmitted to it from the consumer in order to determine the consumer's full account identifier. The payment facilitator then submits a request for financial payment to a financial institution for approval. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317019 | Card-Present On-Line Transactions - Embodiments of the invention can provide systems and methods for on-line credit card transactions. According to one example embodiment of the invention, a method can be provided. The method can include receiving, from a data manager, credit card information of a user; storing, on a secure element, the credit card information of the user; requesting a transaction with a merchant; receiving, from the merchant, a request for the credit card information; and sending, to the merchant, the credit card information of the user and a card-present indicator. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317020 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING AND UTILIZING POOLING ANALYTICS - A system and method for quantifying the working capital benefit of pooling a number of separate cash accounts. The average (mean) cash balance of the pooled account is determined to be the sum of the means of each of the individual accounts. Similarly, the standard deviation of the pooled account is determined to be the square root of the sum of the squares of the standard deviations of the individual accounts. Accordingly, the minimum cash level of the pooled account is 2.3 times the square root of the sum of the squares of the standard deviations of the individual accounts. If pooling is to be beneficial, from a working capital perspective, the minimum cash required in the pooled account will be significantly less than the aggregate cash required by the separate companies. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317021 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FINANCING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RELATED ACTIVITY BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC - A computer-based method for financing an R&D project, including: storing, in a memory element for a computer, computer readable instructions; and executing, using a processor for the computer, the instructions to transmit, for display: a list of R&D projects and estimated funding requirements; a request for funding of an R&D project from the list; and, an offer to provide a portion, proportional to a monetary contribution for the project, of proceeds generated by the project as funding for another R&D project to be selected by a donor providing the monetary contribution. The method receives: the contribution and a selection of the other project from the list. The method determines the proceeds generated by the project, determines the portion of the proceeds, and directs a transfer of funds equal to the portion of the proceeds as funding for the other R&D project. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317022 | Digital Watermarking Applications - The disclosure relates generally to methods and systems including, e.g.,: (1) steganographically embedding location information in image or audio content, where the location information is obtained from remote sources like a cell phone network or remote GPS receiver; (2) steganographically embedding participant IDs in content to ensure proper billing and royalty tracking; (3) providing fair-use content management based upon digital watermark-tracked usage; (4) providing micro-payments based upon watermarked objects for retailers; and/or (5) providing watermarked logon cards, such as watermarked hotel room keys, to better provide internet logon access control. Other systems and methods are provided as well. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317023 | MOBILE TERMINAL AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A mobile terminal and a control method of the mobile terminal may be provided. The mobile terminal may include a short range communication module, a memory for storing information regarding a payment method, and a controller for making a payment using a payment method corresponding to a location at which a communication link is set, based on the information regarding a payment method. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317024 | WEARABLE DEVICE DATA SECURITY - Techniques for wearable device data security are described, including receiving input from one or more sensors coupled to a wearable device, each of the one or more sensors being configured to measure one or more parameters, processing the input to determine a pattern, referencing a pattern library using the pattern to identify a signature, and transforming the signature into data to be transmitted to a device in data communication with the wearable device and configured to perform a function if the data is authenticated. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317025 | Selective Authorization Method and System - Embodiments of the invention generally relate to mobile payments. For example, an application running on a phone can verify a passcode of a consumer. An indication of whether the passcode was verified and a time associated with when the passcode was verified is then sent to a mobile gateway. Later, when a user conducts one or more transactions, a payment processing network can use the indication sent to the mobile gateway to determine whether a the one or more transactions were conducted within a time window, which can be used to authorize the one or more transactions. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317026 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING CHARITABLE DONATIONS BY PROVIDING INSTANTANEOUS DONOR RECOGNITION - Charitable donations are increased by automatically providing immediate on-line recognition of on-line donors. A list of donors is maintained on a Web page acknowledging the on-line contributions. Donor names on the list can be links to additional information about the donation or the donor. Information about donor and donation is entered by the donor, who can specify what information is to be published on the Web and what information is to remain unpublished. The donor list can be arranged in order of donation size, and donors can compete for position on the list. The donor information can indicate membership in a group, and donations can also be totaled by group to encourage donation competition between groups. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317027 | Computer-Implemented Systems And Methods For Real-Time Scoring Of Enterprise Data - Systems and methods are provided for providing real-time scoring of received transaction data. Transaction data describing a particular transaction that has occurred is received. The transaction data is stored in an enterprise database, where the enterprise database is configured to store transactions of disparate types, where the transaction data is stored using a plurality of segments, where a segment is formatted according to a template, and where the template is selected based on an attribute of the transaction, wherein the attribute is a customer attribute, an activity attribute, or a channel attribute. A transaction type of the particular transaction is determined. One or more models are selected from a pool of models based on the transaction type, wherein the one or more models are configured based on a plurality of records from the enterprise database, and a score of the received transaction data is generated based on the transaction data. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317028 | System, Method, and Apparatus for Creating and Distributing a Transaction Credit - An embodiment(s) of a system(s), method(s), and/or apparatus is presented for accepting requests for, determining approval of, and distributing transaction credit(s) (TC(s)). An embodiment of a system(s), method(s), and/or apparatus is presented for distributing a useable TC to a designated recipient in real time. An embodiment of a system(s), method(s), and/or apparatus is presented for providing a consumer a useable TC in any tangible form that may be known in the art, or that can be transferred via, stored in, or retrieved from an electronic format, or that can be physically fabricated by a consumer or transferee of the TC. An embodiment of a system(s), method(s), and/or apparatus is presented for providing a consumer or transferee of a TC notification of receipt of such a TC through a variety of notification means. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317029 | MANAGING RECURRING PAYMENTS FROM MOBILE TERMINALS - Equipments and methods are disclosed for facilitating service provisioning in a system that comprises a payment processor, a number of service providers and a mediator that mediates information exchange between the payment processor and service providers, and a mobile terminal operated by payment card holder. In some implementations, service provisioning can be facilitated in cases wherein the payment processor must reside in a strictly regulated Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant environment and the service providers operate servers that are not PCI-compliant. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317030 | INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE SYSTEM BASED ON PAYMENT CARD ACCOUNTS WITH ACCESS BY MOBILE TELEPHONE - Methods and systems for registering a remittance customer to facilitate international funds transfers are described. In an embodiment a first financial institution computer in a first country receives the name, residence address and a mobile telephone number of a remittance customer from a first mobile network operator (MNO), and also receives image data that corresponds to documentation verifying the remittance customer's identity and residence address. A new payment card account number is generated for the remittance customer and is stored along with the image data and first mobile telephone number. The remittance customer's mobile telephone number and new payment card account number is then transmitted to a translation server of a payment system used for transferring funds internationally. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317031 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR FUNDING TRANSACTIONS USING DEBIT CARDS ISSUED BY ONE INSTITUTION AND FUNDS FROM ACCOUNTS AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS - Methods, apparatus, and systems for funding transactions disclosed herein may operate to: receive, for a transaction, a request to debit a first amount from a primary funding source; determine that a second amount of funds available from the primary funding source is less than the first amount requested for the transaction; compare a maximum backup funding amount with a total amount debited from a backup funding source to fund previous transactions associated with the primary funding source, with the maximum backup funding amount being previously set as an amount available from the backup funding source; and to provide an indication that at least part of a difference between the first amount and the second amount can be drawn from the backup funding source based on determining that the total amount has not reached the maximum backup funding amount. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317032 | LINKING A FINANCIAL CARD WITH A MERCHANT ACCOUNT - Some embodiments include systems and methods for linking a card with a merchant account. A financial institution that issues the merchant card to a merchant acts as both issuer and acquirer for the merchant. The merchant uses the merchant card to accept other financial cards as payment. Funds due the merchant are added to an available balance of the merchant card rather than depositing the funds in a settlement account. The funds can be added to the available balance before the transactions settle and can be accessed by the merchant. The financial institution also authorizes transactions when the merchant uses the merchant card as a regular cardholder to make payment. The merchant name can be changed on a per transaction basis if desired. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317033 | GENERATING BUSINESS PROCESS OBJECTS - Various embodiments of systems and methods for generating a business process object for integrating business process and business objects associated with a business activity are described herein. One or more business process definitions of a business activity are received from a business process model. Also, one or more business object instances used to execute the one or more business process definitions are retrieved from a business object model. Further, the business process object is generated by encapsulating the received one or more business process definitions and the retrieved one or more business object instances. Furthermore, during runtime, business process object data associated with the business process object is transferred to a business application client system using a transfer session key and business object specific way of encryption and decryption methods. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317034 | TRANSPARENT VIRTUAL CURRENCY USING VERIFIABLE TOKENS - Users make online purchases using a virtual currency. A series of secret encryption keys is generated, where each key in the series is associated with a different epoch. A token tracking table is initialized. Whenever real currency is received from a user wanting to purchase tokens, a semantically secure encryption method is used in conjunction with the secret encryption key in the series that is associated with the current epoch to generate a set of encrypted tokens which includes one or more encrypted paid tokens. The set of encrypted tokens is sent to the user wanting to purchase tokens, and each encrypted paid token in the set is entered into the token tracking table, where the entry for each encrypted paid token includes information specifying that the token has not yet been spent and has not yet been encashed. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317035 | PROCESSING TRANSACTIONS WITH AN EXTENDED APPLICATION ID AND DYNAMIC CRYPTOGRAMS - Methods, systems, and machine-readable media are disclosed for handling information related to a transaction conducted with a presentation instrument at a POS device. Extended application IDs and dynamic cryptograms are use for the transaction. According to one embodiment, a method of processing a financial transaction for an account having a primary account number (PAN) can comprise detecting initiation of the transaction with the presentation instrument, and providing from the presentation instrument to the POS device a list of one or more applications IDs. Each application ID identifies an application that can be used to communicate data concerning the transaction between the presentation instrument and the POS device. The POS device selects one of the application IDs and returns it to the presentation instrument. Under the control of the selected application, the presentation instrument generates a Dynamic Transaction Cryptogram (DTC) and a dynamic PAN that are each valid for only a single transaction. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317036 | PAYMENT CARD PROCESSING SYSTEM WITH STRUCTURE PRESERVING ENCRYPTION - A customer may provide a merchant with primary account number information in connection with a purchase transaction. The merchant may send an associated authorization request to a payment card processor. A tokenization server at the payment card processor may generate a token corresponding to the primary account number. To secure the token, the token may be encrypted at the payment card processor using a cryptographic key shared with the merchant. A structure preserving encryption algorithm may be used in encrypting the token. A processor identifier may be embedded in the encrypted version of the token during the structure preserving encryption operation. The merchant can use the shared key to decrypt the token and extract the processor identifier. A settlement request may be directed to the processor from the merchant to settle the transaction using the processor identifier. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317037 | Methods for Providing Secure Transactions - Methods in which an encrypted transaction validation code is received which positively identifies a first transaction for a first entity, the first entity having a first entity identifier, and the first transaction is electronically verified as being valid by use of the first entity identifier and the validation code. The first entity identifier can be transferred as an account number and the validation code transferred to the money source in a non-account data field. A money source can validate the validation code by duplicating the encryption process used to create the validation code and by then comparing the result to the validation code received. The validation code can be, at least in part, encrypted, and a money source can validate the validation code by duplicating a validation code encryption process and by then comparing the result to the validation code received. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317038 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR OPTIMIZING CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS - A customer communication system having a scripting system coupled to a customer interface and at least one business system. The scripting system has at least one processor and at least one memory. The processor is configured to communicate with the customer interface and communicate with the at least one business system in real-time using a data format containing a unique identifier and a token value associated with a data value. The processor is also configured to provide a scripted conversation that is delivered to a customer, where the scripted conversation is predetermined based on one of information contained in a customer account, information provided by the customer and analytics and changes in real-time based on psychological factors of the customer that are detected during the customer communication. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317039 | ON-DEMAND PURCHASE OF VIRTUAL IMAGE LICENSES IN A CLOUD COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT - On-demand purchase of one or more virtual image licenses when a requested virtual image placement into a cloud computing environment is (or will be) denied because sufficient license capacity is not currently available with existing licenses. Particular users are authorized in advance for on-demand purchase of new licenses for virtual image placement, and the purchase for such users occurs automatically upon detecting that the enterprise for which the placement is requested does not have sufficient license capacity. If the user requesting the placement is not authorized for on-demand license purchase, a purchase request is preferably sent automatically to a license administrator with the needed purchase authority, and the placement request is queued and then subsequently restarted when the license purchase completes. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317040 | Patent Value Prediction - Techniques for calculating patent value and predicting patent potential are described herein. These techniques may include calculating the value of a patent based on associations between a patent and other patents. The value of the patent may be calculated based on a citation in another patent to the patent, and a citation in the patent to a further patent. These techniques may also include predicting a potential value of a patent on the basis of a plurality of patent values and displaying this potential to a user. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317041 | Patent Value Calculation - Techniques for calculating patent value and predicting patent potential are described herein. These techniques may include calculating the value of a patent based on associations between a patent and other patents. The value of the patent may be calculated based on a citation in another patent to the patent, and a citation in the patent to a further patent. These techniques may also include predicting a potential value of a patent on the basis of a plurality of patent values and displaying this potential to a user. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317042 | Systems, methods, and software for presenting legal case histories - Systems and methods for automatically processing a textual document by identifying occurrences of a piece of text having a predetermined format in the textual document; determining a depth-of-treatment value for each piece of formatted text in the textual document, the depth-of-treatment value indicating a depth of treatment in the textual document afforded to the particular piece of formatted text; associating an abstract with each piece of formatted text in the textual document; and generating a data record containing each identified piece of formatted text from the textual document, the depth-of-treatment value and the abstract associated with each piece of formatted text in the textual document. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317043 | Method and System for Facilitating Verification of Ownership Status of a Jewelry-Related Item - A method and system for facilitating verification of ownership of a first jewelry-related item are disclosed. In at least some embodiments, the method includes receiving at a central terminal, from a mobile device via an internet-type communications medium, a certificate number associated with a first certificate corresponding to the first jewelry-related item, where the central terminal is at least one of operated and controlled by an entity that provides guarantees or warranties in relation to a plurality of certificates that respectively pertain to respective jewelry items, the plurality of certificates including the first certificate. The method additionally includes searching a database associated with the central terminal for ownership data pertaining to the first jewelry-related item, and sending the ownership data from the central terminal for receipt by the mobile device. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317044 | METHOD, SYSTEM, AND SOFTWARE FOR CREATING A COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE FOR CHARITIES AND PATRONS IN AN ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING ENVIRONMENT - A method, system, and software for creating a competitive marketplace for charities and patrons in an online social networking environment. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317045 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CAREER WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION - A method of managing career opportunities is provided. In some embodiments, a method for providing career and job listing websites and optimizing the career and job listing websites for search engine optimization is provided. In various embodiments, the method comprises creating a career website that mirrors a company's website, extracting job information from the company, and optimizing the job information for maximum search engine placement. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317046 | CANDIDATE FACT CHECKING METHOD AND SYSTEM - A candidate fact checking system is able to verify the correctness of information and/or characterize information related to a candidate by comparing the information with one or more sources. The candidate fact checking system automatically monitors, processes, fact checks information and indicates a status of the information. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317047 | Systems and Methods for Package Custody Management - A package custody management system is disclosed that enables building personnel to manage inbound receipt, custody tracking, and occupant receipt of package deliveries for occupants in a building. The system includes one or more processors capable of receiving, from an individual responsible for performing a function related to ensuring proper custody of packages delivered at the building for occupants of the building, package delivery information regarding delivery of a package to the building for an occupant of the building. The processors are further capable of receiving an indication that the occupant or a person acting on behalf of the occupant has received the package, and responsive to receiving the indication, storing occupant receipt data in a database. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317048 | System and Method for Asset Tracking and Monitoring - A multi-mode asset tracking and monitoring system and method is provided that enables comprehensive reporting of asset position, status, and alerts. In one embodiment, the multi-mode system and method is based on the addition of a local network monitoring system to a wide area satellite network monitoring system. In this example, the local network monitoring system would add container presence and status monitoring in crowded environments (e.g., within a port facility, on-board a ship, etc.), while the wide area satellite network monitoring system would provide tracking and monitoring coverage when the container is in dispersed environments. Both the local and wide area monitoring systems work together to provide end-to-end container tracking and monitoring to thereby ensure continuous container tracking and monitoring from container loading to container unloading. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317049 | SELECTING SENTIMENT ATTRIBUTES FOR VISUALIZATION - Data records containing user feedback regarding at least one offering are received. From among candidate attributes in the received data records, a subset of attributes that relate to user sentiment regarding the at least one offering is selected, where the selecting is according to selection criteria including frequency of occurrence of the candidate attributes, relative amounts of negative and positive feedback associated with the candidate attributes, and time density of feedback associated with the candidate attributes. A visualization of at least one sentiment characteristic of the selected subset of attributes that relate to user sentiment is presented for display. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317050 | METHOD, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM FOR THE GENERIC CREATION OF A STRUCTURE TREE FOR DESCRIBING AN IT PROCESS - The invention relates to a method, to a computer program product and to a computer-readable storage medium for the generic creation of a tree structure for describing an IT method, comprising a complete environment composed of clients, servers, middleware components, applications and network components which an end user requires for carrying out a specific IT-supported business process. The invention is based on the generic creation of a tree structure for describing the topology of an IT method, by which tree structure it is possible to collect and manage all the data necessary for the overall handling of an IT method in a defined structure, such that all the procedures relevant for managing an IT method come from one data source and can be automated. The freedom from loops and the unambiguity of the elements result in a structuring of the data contained in the IT method, whereby automated processing is facilitated. A meta element type in the meta model is assigned to each of the elements used in the tree structure. The meta model describes which element types are allowed. The element types comprise all common generic IT components, such as server, middleware, storage, and the like. It is also established which attributes relating to the element types are allowed and/or necessary and which relations with the associated attributes are allowed between the elements. The freedom from loops is achieved by the use of an acyclically directed graph as the metastructure. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317051 | System and Method for Delegated Pricing and Quote Maintenance for Trading of Dependent Financial Instruments - System and method for delegated quote generation for a dependent financial instrument includes receiving a delegated pricing parameter vector for the dependent financial instrument, the delegated pricing parameter vector based at least in part on a plurality of market parameter fluctuations within which to price the dependent financial instrument, and generating a quote for the dependent financial instrument remotely from the market participant computer system in accordance with a plurality of parameters falling within the plurality of market parameter fluctuations in the delegated pricing parameter vector. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317052 | COLLECTIVELY ANALYZING HOLDINGS ACROSS MULTIPLE FIXED INCOME PRODUCTS - Systems, methods, and computer-readable mediums (i.e., utilities) for use in enabling corporate treasurers, money managers, and other investors to view and analyze consolidated credit risk on individual investments across multiple money market products (MMPs) and/or multiple accounts. In one aspect, the utilities may generate a database of MMP and related holding information that may be used to research and analyze one or more MMPs and/or underlying securities even if the same MMP or security is associated with different identifiers. In another aspect, the securities or holdings of the MMPs of actual or sample accounts may be aggregated (e.g., by common identifier, sponsor, issuer, etc.) either within MMPs and/or across multiple MMPs and subsequently analyzed to generate inferences and to obtain numerous types of information which may be presented to corporate treasurers and/or other users on a display (e.g., text, charts, graphs, etc.) for use in gauging a company's or other entity's credit exposure and in making decisions based on what is displayed. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317053 | FIXED INCOME SECURITIES MARKET DATA DISPLAY - A machine-implemented method includes: obtaining transaction data relating to one or more financial assets, the transaction data including the identity of the one or more financial assets, corresponding valuation data for the one or more financial assets, and corresponding volume data for the one or more financial assets; receiving, at the data processing apparatus, a request to display information relating to a first financial asset from the one or more financial assets; generating, in response to receiving the request, output data for display at a user terminal, in which the output data includes a user interface that displays at least a portion of the transaction data relating to the first financial asset and market projection information relating to the first financial asset, in which the market projection information is substantially contemporaneous with the portion of transaction data; and transmitting the output data to the user terminal. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317054 | COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT ANALYSIS - A technique for performing commercial venture analysis involves establishing an empirically-derived structure and evaluating companies using analytical techniques within that structure. The technique may involve defining jobs, or goals a customer is attempting to reach, with dozens or even hundreds of outcomes. Ideally, the structure and tools facilitate analysis that would not be possible otherwise. Moreover, the nature of the system enables real-time input for changing conditions and the ability to calculate returns for new markets in which products or services do not exist. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317055 | System and Method for Flexible Spread Participation - A system and method for risk analysis of a portfolio of derivative products is disclosed which is conducted based on a set of flexible rules. The system and method allow creating predefined sets of products for the purpose of future risk offsets. If a futures trade as a subset of that set of products that met a threshold level, then the subset is assigned the offset value (or a pro rata or other portion of the offset value) of the predefined set. For example, assume that the predefined set consists of one S&P 500 futures, one NASDAQ futures, one S&P Midcap 400 futures and one Russell 1000 futures and the threshold is three. If the futures trader holds any three of those four futures, the three futures can be grouped, assigned an offset value, and this group can be used as one asset for purpose of further risk offsets. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317056 | HIGH SPEED PRINTING - A system and method for high-speed processing of mail pieces is disclosed. The high-speed system includes client server that forms and prints a shipping label comprising reduced Information-Based Indicia (RIBI) on each piece of mail. The client server provides funds to the system server and reports the RIBI usage to the system server. The system server issues tokens to the client server that allow the client server to the print a shipping label including RIBI indicia for a certain value of postage. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317057 | Method for Providing an Inventory of Garments and Similar Items with Modular Inscriptions - A product and process for providing customized garments. The garment comprises a main body having inner and outer surfaces. At least one pocket having a first inner surface and a first outer surface defines a slot between the outer surface of the main body and the first inner surface of the pocket. The pocket is affixed to the outer surface of the main body, with the pocket having an opening there into. An insert is selectively slidably receivable within and removable from the slot. The insert has a flap portion at one end thereof and protruding outside of and at least partially over the pocket and containing inscriptions thereon. The insert is secured within the pocket such that it is easily removable there from. An inventory process of manufacture and product of the process utilizing this product allows for rapid customization with existing inventory. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317058 | DESIGN OF COMPUTER BASED RISK AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF COMPLEX PRODUCTION AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL PROCESS FACILITIES-APPLICATION TO FPSO'S - A method for predicting risk and designing safety management systems of complex production and process systems which has been applied to an FPSO System operating in deep waters. The methods for the design were derived from the inclusion of a weight index in a fuzzy class belief variable in the risk model to assign the relative numerical value or importance a safety device or system has contain a risk hazards within the barrier. The weights index distributes the relative importance of risk events in series or parallel in several interactive risk and safety device systems. The fault tree, the FMECA and the Bow Tie now contains weights in fizzy belief class for implementing safety management programs critical to the process systems. The techniques uses the results of neural networks derived from fuzzy belief systems of weight index to implement the safety design systems thereby limiting use of experienced procedures and benchmarks. The weight index incorporate Safety Factors sets SFri {0, 0.1, 0.2 . . . 1}, and Markov Chain Network to allow the possibility of evaluating the impact of different risks or reliability of multifunctional systems in transient state process. The application of this technique and results of simulation to typical FPSO/Riser systems has been discussed in this invention. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317059 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SPACE AND RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION - Methods and systems for space and resource optimization are disclosed, including a method comprising receiving a plurality of inputs, transforming the plurality of inputs into at least one or more of (but not limited to) an algorithmic graph and a structural graph based on a domain-specific area using a computer processor. The method further includes creating and applying heuristics for parallelization, performing an optimization run, and analyzing an optimal result produced by the optimization run. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317060 | SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS FOR PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION - A computerized method for optimizing parameters is described. A system can initialize a group of parameters to respective values within a set of allowable models and bound a partition function across a number of variable pairs to generate a plurality of bounds. The system can also determine new values for the group of parameters that minimize a sum of the plurality of bounds. The system can set the group of parameters to the new values and optimize the parameters by iteratively performing the bounding, determining and setting. The system can stop optimizing when a termination condition is reached. | 2012-12-13 |
20120317061 | TIME ENCODING USING INTEGRATE AND FIRE SAMPLER - Systems and methods of time encoding using an integrate and fire (IF) sampler are disclosed. In an example, a method includes receiving input signals for separate classes. The method also includes generating a pulse train based on the input signals. The method also includes binning the pulse train to generate a feature vector. | 2012-12-13 |