Patents Examined by R. David Rines
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Patent number: 8620715Abstract: A method of performing Field Management is disclosed, a Field Management system including a portable Field Management (FM) framework being initially decoupled from any simulators, one or more adaptors operatively connected to the FM framework, and one or more open interfaces associated, respectively, with the one or more adaptors, the open interfaces each having interface characteristics, the method comprising: modifying one or more of the simulators such that the simulators adhere to the interface characteristics of the open interfaces of the one or more adaptors which are operatively connected to the FM framework; subsequently coupling the one or more modified simulators to the one or more open interfaces of the one or more adaptors of the FM framework in response to the modifying step; and performing the Field Management on the condition that the one or more modified simulators are coupled to the one or more open interfaces of the one or more adaptors of the FM framework.Type: GrantFiled: May 10, 2007Date of Patent: December 31, 2013Assignee: Schlumberger Technology CorporationInventors: Baris Guyaguler, Kassem Ghorayeb
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Patent number: 8543448Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and methods operate to partition a product feature set into a set of included features and a set of feature upselling candidates determined by a corresponding set of decision variables. The decision variables can be determined, in turn, by maximizing a profit function comprising a sum of first mathematical products (each product including profit, probability of sale, and a decision variable) over the product feature set, subject to the condition that a sum of second mathematical products (each product including feature utility and a decision variable) over the product feature set is less than or equal to the utility of the product feature set combined with a base product, minus the utility of a competing product. Operations may include designating an initial sales product configuration as a combination of a base product and the set of included features. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: May 9, 2008Date of Patent: September 24, 2013Assignee: SAP AGInventors: Oliver Baecker, Thomas Odenwald, Harald Weppner
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Patent number: 8521578Abstract: A method is disclosed for determining whether to develop products for potential customers. The method may involve: identifying a plurality of potential products; identifying a plurality of potential customers; assessing salability attributes of the potential products from perspectives of the potential customers to generate attribute assessments; using an input device to enable a user to input the pluralities of potential products and potential customers, as well as the attribute assessments, to a processor; using the processor to determine, for each of the potential products, and using the attribute assessments, all possible implementation combinations in which at least n of the potential customers implement the product, where n is a positive whole number; using the processor to determine the probability of each implementation combination, for each product; and using the processor to assist in determining, based upon the probability determinations, which of the potential products to develop.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2009Date of Patent: August 27, 2013Assignee: The Boeing CompanyInventor: Parl C. Hummel
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Patent number: 8510152Abstract: A tool is configured to determine process and service strengths as related to the accomplishment of one or more objectives. One or more processes include associated process information relating to various process attributes. The tool may execute a plurality of scoring modules to produce scores representative of strengths of processes and services as related to the accomplishment of the objectives. The scores may be used to identify processes for adjustment having a maximum impact on the scores.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2009Date of Patent: August 13, 2013Assignee: Accenture Global Services LimitedInventor: Saurabh Rai
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Patent number: 8374908Abstract: A method and system to establish a safety assessment of a process industry plant including multiple organizational units. The method and system store scores relating to a rating of one of an inspection, undertaken in one of the organizational units regarding an aspect of the plant, and an answer, given by a human representative of one of the organizational units in response to defined questions relating to one of the aspects. The scores are assigned to respective of the organizational units and respective of the aspects. Aspect-specific scores are then calculated. Safety assessment can then be established from the aspect-specific scores of the organizational units.Type: GrantFiled: October 14, 2005Date of Patent: February 12, 2013Assignee: Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd.Inventors: Ulrich Straub, Ernst Zirngast
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Patent number: 8346597Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to systems, methods, and computer program products for client/customer-centric macro (e.g., business-wide) monitoring of business performance and determination of business-wide customer impact trends associated with the client's/customer's composite relationship with the business. Additionally, embodiments provide for determining customer impact trends at other levels of the business relationship, such as at business unit/line of business levels, product/service levels and the like. Based on the determined customer impact trends, further determinations may be made regarding whether alerts are warranted based on the trends, and generating and communicating the alerts if warranted. Determining business-wide customer impact trends provides for the business to identify problems or potential problems that may adversely impact the global relationship between the overall client entity and the business implementing the performance monitoring system.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 2010Date of Patent: January 1, 2013Assignee: Bank of America CorporationInventors: Willard H. Waldron, III, Timothy James Mark
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Patent number: 8332267Abstract: A method and system for adjudicating measurement data in real time and re-adjudicating a segment of an input measurement data stream upon submission of a new adjudication instruction in a service level evaluation system. An adjudication instruction associated with a service level is received. Measurement data including a first measurement data point is received. The received adjudication instruction is applied in real time to the first measurement data point to generate a first adjudicated measurement data point. A service level is evaluated based on the first adjudicated measurement data point. To re-adjudicate the data stream segment, a new adjudication instruction is received and the segment is identified. The input data stream's adjudication is suspended and the stream is queued into storage. The segment of measurement data is retrieved and re-adjudicated by applying the new adjudication instruction. The input data stream's adjudication is resumed afterwards from the queued input stream.Type: GrantFiled: November 7, 2011Date of Patent: December 11, 2012Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Melissa Jane Buco, Rong Nickle Chang, Laura Zaihua Luan, Christopher Ward
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Patent number: 8265984Abstract: A method and system for integrating multiple factors into a unified optimization model for retail network configuration, in one aspect, obtains input data for modeling store configuration. The input data may include demand of each merchandise category from each customer segment in each facility, geographic distribution of stores in an area, current revenue of stores, and physical cost of reconfiguring stores. A trade area is generated as a function of store location, store format, and store capacity. The method and system also generates trade area demand summation representing predicted total demand of all stores for all merchandise categories for all customer segments in the trade area, as a function of store location, store format, store capacity, merchandise category, and customer segment associated with the trade area. An objective function is constructed as a function of said trade area demand summation, current revenue of stores, and physical cost of reconfiguring stores.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 2008Date of Patent: September 11, 2012Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Xin Xin Bai, Jin Dong, Ta-Hsin Li, Ming Xie, Wen Jun Yin, Bin Zhang, Cindy Q. Zhang
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Patent number: 8239245Abstract: A method and apparatus for end-to-end retail store one-stop site configuration integrates multiple data sources, identifying key customers, forecasting merchandise demand. Site configuration is formulated as a mathematical optimization problem with both in-store and external data as input to the problem whose solution provides proper suggestions for retail store transformation.Type: GrantFiled: January 22, 2008Date of Patent: August 7, 2012Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Xin Xin Bai, Jin Dong, Ta-Hsin Li, Wen Jun Yin, Bin Zhang, Cindy Q. Zhang
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Patent number: 8214227Abstract: Systems, methods, and graphical user interfaces are provided for identifying, analyzing, and adopting opportunities for optimizing clinical processes within clinical facilities. An optimized practice process model may be defined for a particular clinical procedure, setting forth an optimal clinical process. In addition, critical levers may be identified within the optimal clinical process, representing the activities that have the greatest impact on outcomes. Clinical facilities may collect current measures for the critical levers, and the current measures may be compared against an optimal, benchmark, and/or target measure. Based on the comparison, opportunities for clinical process optimization may be identified. Those opportunities may then be analyzed and prioritized for adoption into a facility's current practice. Clinical processes within healthcare facilities may be further improved by continuously monitoring facility data and identifying further opportunities of optimization.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2006Date of Patent: July 3, 2012Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc.Inventors: Neal L. Patterson, Paul N. Gorup
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Patent number: 8200511Abstract: A method and system for determining the importance of each of the variables that contribute to the overall score of a model for predicting the profitability of an insurance policy. For each variable in the model, an importance is calculated based on the calculated slope and deviance of the predictive variable. Since the score is developed using complex mathematical calculations combining large numbers of parameters with predictive variables, it is often difficult to interpret from the mathematical formula for example, why some policyholders receive low scores while other receive high scores. Such clear communication and interpretation of insurance profitability scores is critical if they are used by the various interested insurance parties including policyholders, agents, underwriters, and regulators.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2001Date of Patent: June 12, 2012Assignee: Deloitte Development LLCInventors: Frank M. Zizzamia, Cheng-Sheng Peter Wu, Raymond E. Stukel, Hrisanthi Adamopoulos, John R. Lucker
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Patent number: 8190464Abstract: A management database is queried to determine which customers have failed to respond to recall notices. The resulting list of customers may be sorted or filtered so that some customers are preferentially contacted first, based on expected value or office preferences. The list may also be sorted or filtered to fill specific providers' schedules first. Customer names and contact information are then presented to schedulers so that customers may be contacted. The time and date of each contact is automatically recorded along with the outcome of the contact. A customer name is presented to a scheduler only if the same name is not being simultaneously presented to other schedulers and that customer was not too recently contacted, so that redundant or too frequent contacts are avoided.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 2006Date of Patent: May 29, 2012Assignee: Brevium, Inc.Inventors: Brett C. Gerlach, Brian William Perrin
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Patent number: 8160917Abstract: Computer-implemented systems and methods for determining promotion prices for a plurality of items. A system and method can be configured to receive electronic data about items for a promotion event and to receive electronic data about vehicles for a promotion event. An optimizer, which is implemented on a data processor, includes or has access to an optimization formulation for determining optimal promotion prices for the items and for determining assignments of the vehicles to the items for promoting the items during the promotion event.Type: GrantFiled: March 20, 2008Date of Patent: April 17, 2012Assignee: SAS Institute Inc.Inventors: Rajendra Singh Solanki, Yinhua Wang, Jie Zhong
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Patent number: 8150720Abstract: A method includes monitoring a system for fault conditions, determining an estimated energy loss based on the fault condition, determining an estimated product loss and/or sales loss based on the fault condition, and scheduling maintenance to correct the fault condition. Maintenance is schedule to correct the fault condition prior to the energy loss and the product loss exceeding maintenance costs.Type: GrantFiled: August 29, 2005Date of Patent: April 3, 2012Assignee: Emerson Retail Services, Inc.Inventors: Abtar Singh, Sushil K Bansal, Pawan K Churiwal, Patrick P Milliken
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Patent number: 8135602Abstract: Techniques for delivering data for coordinating multiple party use of a facility include producing conditions data by measuring without human intervention current condition of a facility that is used by multiple human parties. Availability data that indicates present or future availability for the facility is generated based at least in part on the conditions data. Coordination data based at least in part on the availability data is presented for the parties. These techniques allow rapid dynamic adaptation to changing status of a high-value facility while being less reliant on varied and subjective human motivations for reporting status changes. Undue exposure of sensitive information can be avoided by deriving less detailed views from high-resolution images of the facility and its users. Coordination data can be projected directly onto, and manual input can be derived from, a magnetic white board currently used for coordination at many facilities.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2004Date of Patent: March 13, 2012Assignee: University of Maryland, BaltimoreInventors: Yan Xiao, Fu Ming (Peter) Hu, F. Jacob Seagull, Colin F. Mackenzie
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Patent number: 8126741Abstract: A system for managing prescription data is provided. The system for managing prescription data includes a switch system. The switch system is configured to receive prescription submissions from pharmacy systems, submit the prescription submissions to approval systems, receive responses from the approval systems, and transmit the responses to the pharmacy systems. The switch system is further configured to receive treatment classification data including pathogen groups and pharmaceuticals prescribed to treat symptoms occurring from exposure to each pathogen group. The switch system is further configured to determine normal variations of the prescription submissions, detect anomalous variations of the prescription submissions, and generate a notification in response to detecting an anomalous variation.Type: GrantFiled: February 28, 2011Date of Patent: February 28, 2012Assignee: HCC, Inc.Inventors: William Rex Akers, Craig Alan Walker, Michael T. Rupp, Gregory B. Ehrhardt, Christian T. Ehrhardt, Brian M. Hudson, Matthew M. Bergmann
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Patent number: 8112291Abstract: Methods and user interfaces are provided for prioritizing opportunities for optimizing clinical processes within clinical facilities. An optimized practice process model may be defined for a particular clinical procedure, setting forth an optimal clinical process. In addition, critical levers may be identified within the optimal clinical process, representing the activities that have the greatest impact on outcomes. Clinical facilities may collect current measures for the critical levers, and the current measures may be compared against an optimal, benchmark, and/or target measure. Based on the comparison, opportunities for clinical process optimization may be identified. User interfaces are provided for prioritizing the opportunities, for example, based on benefit indexes and effort indexes determined for each opportunity.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2006Date of Patent: February 7, 2012Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc.Inventors: Barry C. Dyer, Karen S. Berg
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Patent number: 8032398Abstract: An interactive computer assisted method compiles comprehensive health care information on patients in a central repository, assesses and analyzes this information, and identifies high utilizers of health care services using a computer and a user associated therewith. The method includes the steps of creating a central repository of various databases containing patient information, including demographic information and behavior, and optionally the results of a core survey of health status questions. The invention optionally involves the step of determining the appropriate core questions and the criteria to determine whether and when to ask certain questions of particular patients based on their response to prior questions.Type: GrantFiled: February 13, 2009Date of Patent: October 4, 2011Assignee: Medco Health Solutions Inc.Inventors: Miriam A. Kelly, Alan M. Lotvin
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Patent number: 8027855Abstract: Methods of assessing feasibility of a project include receiving a datum from a customer; designing an application specific system based on the datum; analyzing the datum; evaluating a set of input parameters to determine an applicability of the application specific system to a customer process; and providing feedback for the customer process with the application specific system.Type: GrantFiled: May 30, 2006Date of Patent: September 27, 2011Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Inc.Inventors: Robert P. Freese, John C. Blackburn, Ryan J. Priore, David L. Perkins
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Patent number: 8027870Abstract: A method, framework, and system for providing formalized Information Technology (IT) business decision making, which includes determining a relationship between at least one Information Technology (IT) environmental element and at least one Information Technology (IT) performance metric, and determining a business value based on the at least one Information Technology (IT) environmental element and the at least one Information Technology (IT) performance metric to optimize an Information Technology (IT) business decision based on at least one predetermined business objective. The at least one predetermined business objective is based on a set of system constraints.Type: GrantFiled: January 3, 2007Date of Patent: September 27, 2011Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Bonnie K. Ray, Mary E. Helander, Richard C. Henderson