Abstract: Harvesting the high performance computing capabilities of vehicle processors while the vehicles are parked and/or charging may provide use to otherwise unused resources as well as offer a way to discount parking and/or charging costs for the vehicle owner/driver. To harvest the computing capabilities, a dispatcher is utilized that receives incoming complex processing requests and parses the requests into tasks. The dispatcher dispatches the tasks to vehicle processors that are within, for example, a parking garage to which the dispatcher has access. The dispatcher may prioritize requests and/or prioritize the vehicle processors to distribute the tasks to optimize the power consumption, time, and processing capabilities used. When the vehicle processors complete the tasks and return results to the dispatcher, the dispatcher finalizes the job results and provides the results to the requestor. The dispatcher may discount the parking and/or charging costs for the vehicles that performed the computational tasks.

Abstract: The systems and methods disclosed herein are configured to determine if a trailer backup assist system is needed to assist a driver with a procedure to backup a trailer that is connected to a vehicle. The estimation of need for assistance may be determined by an assistance model. If assistance is needed, the systems and methods provide an input to initiate a process to enable the trailer backup assist system.

Abstract: The systems and methods disclosed herein are configured to determine if a trailer backup assist system is needed to assist a driver with a procedure to backup a trailer that is connected to a vehicle. The estimation of need for assistance may be determined by an assistance model. If assistance is needed, the systems and methods provide an input to initiate a process to enable the trailer backup assist system.

Abstract: Harvesting the high performance computing capabilities of vehicle processors while the vehicles are parked and/or charging may provide use to otherwise unused resources as well as offer a way to discount parking and/or charging costs for the vehicle owner/driver. To harvest the computing capabilities, a dispatcher is utilized that receives incoming complex processing requests and parses the requests into tasks. The dispatcher dispatches the tasks to vehicle processors that are within, for example, a parking garage to which the dispatcher has access. The dispatcher may prioritize requests and/or prioritize the vehicle processors to distribute the tasks to optimize the power consumption, time, and processing capabilities used. When the vehicle processors complete the tasks and return results to the dispatcher, the dispatcher finalizes the job results and provides the results to the requestor. The dispatcher may discount the parking and/or charging costs for the vehicles that performed the computational tasks.

Abstract: The system and method according to certain embodiments of the present invention substantially overcome the deficiencies of known systems and methods by including the health care provider's participation in the computer generation of the medical history. A preferred embodiment comprises utilizing the computer system requesting and/or allowing the health care provider's participation with the computer system at certain points in the otherwise automated medical history by the computer system. A single health care provider can simultaneously allow a plurality of patients to use the system to automatically generate medical histories for these patients. Alternative embodiments of the present invention can be used in fields outside of health care to allow a single computer operator to participate in the computer generation of histories for a plurality of users.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and apparatus for detecting a merchandise marker in which a first antenna has a circuit having a first loop defining a first area and a second loop defining a second area substantially coplanar with the first area. A second antenna is substantially coplanar and orthogonally positioned with respect to the first antenna. The second antenna has a circuit having a third loop defining a third area and a fourth loop defining a fourth area substantially coplanar with the third area.

Abstract: A system for controlling door-mounted or door-embedded antennas. An antenna, for example, an EAS or an RF antenna, sends interrogation signals which are received by markers located on merchandise within a range of detection, i.e., an “interrogation zone”. Antennas that are mounted on or embedded in a door move along with the motion of the door. Thus, the interrogation zone covered by the antenna's magnetic field is continually changing with the movement of the door. The system and method of the present invention control door-mounted antennas by monitoring the motion of the door upon which the antenna is mounted, and by adjusting the size and breadth of the interrogation zone generated by the antenna accordingly.

Abstract: A system for controlling door-mounted or door-embedded antennas. An antenna, for example, an EAS or an RF antenna, sends interrogation signals which are received by markers located on merchandise within a range of detection, i.e., an “interrogation zone”. Antennas that are mounted on or embedded in a door move along with the motion of the door. Thus, the interrogation zone covered by the antenna's magnetic field is continually changing with the movement of the door. The system and method of the present invention control door-mounted antennas by monitoring the motion of the door upon which the antenna is mounted, and by adjusting the size and breadth of the interrogation zone generated by the antenna accordingly.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling door-mounted or door-embedded antennas. An antenna, for example, an EAS or an RF antenna, sends interrogation signals which are received by markers located on merchandise within a range of detection, i.e., an “interrogation zone”. Antennas that are mounted on or embedded in a door move along with the motion of the door. Thus, the interrogation zone covered by the antenna's magnetic field is continually changing with the movement of the door. The system and method of the present invention control door-mounted antennas by monitoring the motion of the door upon which the antenna is mounted, and by adjusting the size and breadth of the interrogation zone generated by the antenna accordingly.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and apparatus for detecting a merchandise marker in which a first antenna has a circuit having a first loop defining a first area and a second loop defining a second area substantially coplanar with the first area. A second antenna is substantially coplanar and orthogonally positioned with respect to the first antenna. The second antenna has a circuit having a third loop defining a third area and a fourth loop defining a fourth area substantially coplanar with the third area.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling door-mounted or door-embedded antennas. An antenna, for example, an EAS or an RF antenna, sends interrogation signals which are received by markers located on merchandise within a range of detection, i.e., an “interrogation zone”. Antennas that are mounted on or embedded in a door move along with the motion of the door. Thus, the interrogation zone covered by the antenna's magnetic field is continually changing with the movement of the door. The system and method of the present invention control door-mounted antennas by monitoring the motion of the door upon which the antenna is mounted, and by adjusting the size and breadth of the interrogation zone generated by the antenna accordingly.

Abstract: The present invention features methods and articles of manufacture for treating nicotine withdrawal symptoms and promoting smoking cessation. The methods and articles feature the administration of an effective amount of a nicotine substitute and monitor the presence of nicotine in the biological sample of such subject with a nicotine detection system.

Abstract: The present application features methods and articles of manufacture for alleviating acute symptoms of nicotine withdrawal and as an aid in smoking cessation. The invention features lobeline held in sublingual tablets for administration to the sublingual and nasal mucosa.

Abstract: The present invention describes the incorporation of self-serve checkout systems within a supermarket. The installation of self-serve checkout systems is shown whereby the productivity of the supermarket is maintained, no significantly increased floorspace requirements occur, the human supervisor of the self-serve checkout systems is able to strategically carry out his/her duties and the co-existence with conventional checkout lanes is allowed. As well, a method and apparatus for integrating a labor savings car order bag handling system with the checkout lanes of the supermarket is shown. In addition, a method and apparatus for augmenting the checkout productivity of produce items is shown.

Abstract: A fast retail security weighing system is disclosed whereby if a second purchased item's product code is entered before the weight corresponding to the first purchased item's product code has been measured and verified, the system will consider the weight on the scale as corresponding to the first purchased item alone, but if such weight does not correspond with the allowed weight for the first purchased product, then the system will consider whether the weight on the scale corresponds to the summation of the first and second purchased items' weights. The fast retail security weighing system may also approximate the actual weight on the scale from the rate of weight change and the instantaneous weight reading.

Abstract: The present invention describes a method and apparatus for weighing customers entering and leaving a store, or a user entering and leaving a particular institution or a worker entering and leaving the workplace and ascertaining automatically that the equivalence of the said two weight values do not indicate that any goods have been fraudulently removed by the person in question and where said equivalence does not occur, initiates an alarm protocol. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the customer is weighed upon entering the retail store and is given a bar coded printed token indicative of his/her weight. At the checkout stand, with the customer's purchased products still resting typically in the shopping cart or on the checkout stand, the customer is weighed again and scans in the bar coded printed token previously obtained. The customer's weight should remain significantly unchanged if no products have been fraudulently obtained.

Abstract: A self-serve checkout system which consists of a self-service checkout station containing a video camera unit which generally views a first scale where bar coded products are deposited and which pivots to view a second scale where products without bar coded labels are initially deposited. The video camera generates a signal received by a display in a supervisor station which allows a supervisory employee to approve non-bar coded products and to survey in general other products deposited on the first scale. A plurality of self-service checkout stations are selectively connected to a singular supervisor station by a switching unit. The self-service checkout stations contain angles or active surfaces to prevent deposition of articles for later fraudulent removal. The self-service checkout stations contain receipt printers, magnetic payment card readers and coupon acceptors to further reduce the time the supervisory employee must spend on each order.

Abstract: A bar code cleaner is disclosed having the ability to allow the removal of foreign material from bar code labels so that they may successfully be read by machine bar code readers. The bar-code cleaner system consists of the apparatus to clean the bar codes and bar code labels manufactured from materials able to physically resist degradation by the apparatus which cleans the bar code. The apparatus to clean the bar code label consists of, mounted in proximity to the machine bar code reader, a scraping edge and/or a duct releasing compressed gas and/or cleaning fluid and/or a duct producing a vacuum.