Abstract: A Home Resale Price Protection Plan provides a payment to a homeowner should the homeowner have to sell his or her house at a loss. In exchange for an upfront fee, the homeowner would receive a payment for the lesser of their actual loss or the loss calculated by multiplying their original purchase price by the proportional drop in an appropriate housing price index.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 17, 2010
Date of Patent:
June 14, 2011
Assignee:
PriceLock Finance LLC
Inventors:
Steven M. Menzies, Jeffrey A. Silver, Christopher W. Overton
Abstract: An underwater vehicle, such as a submarine or a swimmer/diver, can be detected by seeding a volume of water with neutrally buoyant, acoustically reflective sensors. The sensors comprise a sonar reflective coating and an adhesive so that they stick to and mark said vehicle when said vehicle or swimmer/diver passes through said volume of water. A sonar detector scans the water to identify the presence of said vehicle or swimmer/diver by observing acoustic reflections from the sensors adhering to the vehicle or swimmer/diver.
Abstract: Auto insurance customers can be transitioned from an initial rating algorithm A to a subsequent algorithm B by phasing in the transition over a period of several years. The premium charged during the transition period is equal to the premium calculated under the rating algorithm B minus a premium adjustment. The premium adjustment is given by the difference between the premium according to algorithm B minus the legacy premium from algorithm A, said difference being multiplied by a rating transition factor. The rating transition factor may be a linearly decreasing function which has a value of 1 just before the transition period and a value of zero at the end of the transition period. The transition period may be in the range of 3 to 8 years long.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 16, 2006
Date of Patent:
November 2, 2010
Assignee:
Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation
Inventors:
William J. Conner, III, Geoffrey H. Arnold, Marlowe G. Leibensperger
Abstract: A coating system for defouling a substrate, such as a ship hull, immersed in water or seawater for long periods of time comprises a conductive layer, an antifouling layer and a means for providing an energy pulse to said conductive layer. The conductive layer comprises polymers, such as carbon filled polyethylene, which are electrically conductive. The antifouling layer comprises polymers, such as polydimethylsiloxane, which have a low surface free energy. The layers are designed such that when the conductive layer is exposed to a pulse of electrical, acoustic or microwave energy or combinations thereof, said conductive layer separates from said antifouling layer.