Abstract: A kit for determining a hypothetical cornea for use with post-LASIK and post myopia Ortho-K amendment. The kit has a reference table for determining conformation data by using at least one of following data: pre-treatment KM readings, post-treatment KM readings, power reduced from before- to after-treatment, and post-treatment cornea optical zone. The kit further comprises a plurality of conformed lenses based on the conformation data in predetermined increments from the reference table. The pre-treatment KM readings comprise pre-operative or pre-ortho-K readings. The post-treatment KM readings comprise post-operative or post ortho-K readings. The post-treatment cornea optical zone comprises post-operative or post-ortho-K cornea optical zone. Also, a method of determining a hypothetical cornea for use with post-LASIK and post myopia Ortho-K amendment is disclosed.

Abstract: A system and method for using a communications network with a server and a database to provide income-generating business card and referral card network. In one embodiment, a credit card issuer provides a set of personalized business cards to a first customer for his use, upon qualifying the first customer for a credit card from the card issuer. The business cards can be used to receive a discount from a merchant within certain network affiliated with the card issuer. At the same time, the business cards provide a linkage to the first customer's account, so that the first customer will receive a credit to his account, based on the second customer's use of the business card at an affiliated merchant. The second customer is then invited to apply for a credit card from the card issuer. If the second customer qualifies and accepts the credit card, the second customer receives his own set of personalized business cards for distribution.

Abstract: An information kiosk is disclosed. The information kiosk preferably has a touch-screen LCD display for convenient user interface. The information kiosk has an adjustable support stand for supporting the kiosk for convenient viewing by its users. The support stand also has a nested extension leg, which can be pulled out from stowage within the support stand. The extension leg, when pulled out and locked to the support stand, extends the length of the support stand, thus providing different viewing angles for the kiosk users with different heights, while maintaining the same angle between the support stand and the display head. The hinge, between which the hinge and the display body is connected, has a tension-based movement to prevent the kiosk from unintentional collapse. Ventilation openings are implemented on the upper back side of the kiosk. A barcode scanner is preferably integrally positioned to the top of the LCD display.

Abstract: An improved universal remote control unit (URC) for controlling electronic appliance units. The URC unit has the typical remote controller module for controlling appliances such as TV, stereo, VCR or DVD. Additionally, the URC has a scratch pad memory for storing telephone numbers and web site information entered through the URC unit's alphanumeric keys. When activated, the key pad entries are stored in the memory, instead of being used to control the appliance. The URC unit further has a digital recorder module that can be implemented with a microphone, a voice recorder chip and a speaker, all integrated with the URC unit. The digital recorder module can even use the battery that is typically used by the URC unit. The URC unit further has a display screen to display the information stored in and recalled from the memory.

Abstract: A gain amplifier with quadrature phase compensation circuit is disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a multifunctional device, which is particularly applicable to a twin magnet loop (called TML) transducer with both vibrating and sound functions. The present invention integrates an inner and an outer magnet loop of TML into one device, which can be used as a vibrator and a speaker. A disc-shaped pole core, a flange bowl-shaped magnetic transfer, an annular pole piece, a cylindrical magnet and an annular magnet constitute the inner and outer magnetic loops; wherein the disc-shaped pole core is placed on the cylindrical magnet and centered with the flange bowl-shaped magnetic transfer; the annular magnet and the annular pole piece are overlaid together under the ring of the flange bowl-shaped magnetic transfer; the entire of the TML assembly is connected with a housing base via a resilient plate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for canceling a near-end echo of a far-end signal for each channel of a voice over packet multi-channel communications gateway. The invention applies “off-the-shelf” coding mechanisms as well as novel coding schemes to provide fixed compression rate and with options to maintain perfect speech integrity on certain processing components, such as network echo canceller, acoustic echo canceller, Voice Activity Detector, Comfort Noise Generation, etc. The off-the-shelf compression algorithm includes LPC-10, G.723.1, G.729A. The alternatives are Wavelet transform, DPCM, and ADPCM, etc.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing an output voltage Vo to power an electronic device is disclosed herein. According to the preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a power supply (100) having two or more first connection elements (108) in which some or all of the first connection elements (108) are in series with different respective resistive loads (103) and circuitry for maintaining the first connection elements (108) at different voltages, and a connector assembly (200) arranged to be coupled between the power supply (100) and the electronic device.

Abstract: A method and system of using the Internet to retrieve printed articles from printed media. The method of the present invention first tags each printed article that is to be published in print. The tag is also printed with the printed article to allow readers to identify. The printed article and its tag are collected and stored in a database, which is accessible through the Internet or the Worldwide Web. When a reader finds a printed article of interest to the reader on the print version of the media, the reader sends a request with the tag to the database. Upon receiving the request and the tag, the database is searched to locate the printed article. Upon locating the stored printed article in the database, it is transmitted to the reader's computer or to the reader's email address. Such article can now be stored, filed, distributed, shared in anyway the reader sees fit, all without having to labor through the traditional manual clipping tasks.

Abstract: A contact lens is fitted to a cornea of a patient's eye to gradually alter the patient's cornea during continued wear to reshape the cornea to reduce the hyperopia and/or presbyopia condition. The contact lens has a plurality of zones that includes one or two optical zones, a plateau zone, a fitting zone, an alignment zone and a peripheral zone. The one or more optical zones are utilized to redistribute cornea tissue to cause the cornea to have a steepened central portion surrounded by a flat mid-peripheral ring The plateau zone helps steepening the central cornea by two ways: a positive molding effect of pushing the cornea tissue inward to pile up and a negative molding effect to flatten the mid-peripheral cornea for enhancing.

Abstract: A frequency synthesizer for dual-band high frequency RF application. The frequency synthesizer first uses a frequency-locked loop circuit (“FLL”) to achieve self-calibration and frequency-locking, and then uses a phase-locked loop circuit (“PLL”) to achieve phase-locking. During the FLL, the PLL is de-activated by control signals from the digital control and state machine of the FLL. The varactor of the VCO is initially connected to a fixed voltage, thus isolating the varactor from the PLL. The FLL adjusts the VCO's capacitor array by varying the five binary control bits from the state machine and digital control, until frequency-locking and self-calibration is achieved. Then, those five binary weighting control bits are also fixed for the VCO. The PLL is then activated to perform a fine-tuning and phase-locking loop, where the varactor of the VCO is controlled by the signal from the charge pump and the low-pass filter.

Abstract: A safety device for escaping from building, which includes a flexible tube-shaped object (8), interval installing elastic apparatus (6) longitudinal along the flexible tube-shaped object (8), a supporting frame (9) installed on the top of said flexible tube-shaped object (8), escaping entry (11) installed on the supporting frame (9). Using the safety device according to the present invention, people can safely descend onto the ground from the high building through said flexible tube-shaped object (8), when the accident occurs in the building.

Abstract: An improved universal remote control unit (URC) for home entertainment units. The URC has the typical remote controller module for controlling appliances such as TV, stereo, VCR or DVD. Additionally, the URC has a built-in digital recorder module for recording the consumer's voice, or any audio messages from the appliances. The digital recorder module can be implemented with a microphone, a voice recorder chip and a speaker, all integrated with the URC unit. The digital recorder module can even use the battery that is typically used by the URC. The URC alternatively can be implemented with a memory and display screen, coupled to the number keys. Such arrangement allows the telephone information to be punched in, using the numeric keys on the URC, stored in the memory for display.

Abstract: A receiver for the third-generation (“3G”) CDMA wireless system is disclosed. The receiver is adapted to mitigate the correlated interference by adaptive antenna process which will maximize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio. After the mitigation of correlated interference from first step space process, the second step is to counter fading with MRC which is optimum after the mitigation of correlated interference. After these first two steps of interference mitigation by adaptive antennas and fading compensation through MRC, the decision signal for the first stage of MPIC will have the strongest desired part and least interference compared to any MPIC available. As can be appreciated, the first stage BER of the present receiver will be the lowest. Then, this low BER will result in a more accurate MAI regeneration, which will further cause a lower BER for the next stage and any subsequent stages.