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Patent No. 5421089

Fork With Timer

A fork with timer for providing a cue to a user after an elapsed period of time for indicating that another bite of food using the fork may be taken.

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Diaz, Susanna M.


Primary examiner statistics: 141 patents; average approval time: 145 days
Assistant examiner statistics: 0 patents; average approval time: 0 days

Patents as Primary Examiner

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NumberTitleIssue Date
7464036Methods, systems, and computer program products for selecting a job post site to which a job opening description may be posted by ranking job post sites based on one or more selection criterion
Embodiments of methods, systems, and computer program products are provided that may facilitate selection of a job post site to which a job opening description may be posted. For example, a job post site may be selected by obtaining one or more job post site selecti...
12/09/2008
7437328Value insertion using bill pay card preassociated with biller
The present invention is directed at systems and methods of inserting value into a customer account with a provider of goods or services. Methods may comprise distributing to a customer a bill pay card wherein the bill pay cards comprise information sufficient to id...
10/14/2008
7433828Computer implemented medical integrated decision support system
A software-based, integrated member decision support system provides a method for corporations, insurance carriers, health maintenance organizations, physicians, physician groups, or other clients to efficiently provide medical, pharmaceutical, and health benefit ad...
10/07/2008
7433829System and method for managing global risk
A system for tracking compliance to risk management policies for a given enterprise that provides risk status feedback on hierarchical managerial levels. The system notifies users of potential problems with non-compliance of enterprise policies set on a high level o...
10/07/2008
7428496Creating an incentive to author useful item reviews
A facility for rewarding the provision of useful item reviews is described. The facility receives a plurality of item reviews, each from a source. The facility publishes each of the plurality of received item reviews, and assesses the usefulness of the published ite...
09/23/2008
7424440Sales optimization
A system and method for forecasting the effects of a marketing decision on future sales by analyzing product sales strategies using archived sales data obtained from database files are disclosed. The database files may be validated so as to insure their integrity. A...
09/09/2008
7409356Method and system for intelligent supply chain collaboration
An improved supply chain management system and method is disclosed for assisting companies to improve the efficiency of supply chains. One embodiment includes a partial order planner to better handle the changes and uncertainties that inevitably occur in the real-wo...
08/05/2008
7403903System and method for ongoing supporting a procurement and accounts payable system
A system for deploying to a client accounting installation a general procurement and accounts payable application specifically configured for the client by an enterprise includes a database server for (1) maintaining on a storage device a database of templates descr...
07/22/2008
7401041Systems and methods for providing robust investment portfolios
Robust methods for determining an investment portfolio are based on investment parameters which are assumed to be error bounded rather than precisely known values. A confidence threshold is input based on the measure of confidence in the resulting worst-case portfol...
07/15/2008
7398222System and method for assessing a procurement and accounts payable system
A system for deploying to a client accounting installation a general procurement and accounts payable application specifically configured for the client by an enterprise includes a database server for (1) maintaining on a storage device a database of templates descr...
07/08/2008
7398223Dynamically assigning a survey to a respondent
A method and apparatus for assigning a survey to a respondent are provided. According to one technique, a set of one or more screening questions are generated and provided to the respondent. Input data is received in response to the respondent answering the set of o...
07/08/2008
7395234Method, apparatus and program for pricing, transferring, buying, selling and exercising financial options for paying educational course fees
An apparatus, method and program for user to contract a future education fee amount now and paying for the said education fees in the future. This is done by way of a contract agreeable between the institution and the user where the future fee is only payable if sai...
07/01/2008
7395221Intelligent free-time search
Techniques are disclosed for performing free-time searches that exploit information of the type used with electronic calendars. By leveraging advanced calendaring system information and using location, other context information such as corporate policy, legal constr...
07/01/2008
7389250Coercion-free voting scheme
A facility for conducting a coercion-resistant electronic collection is described. The facility receives from the voter a first voter conformation value. At a later time, the facility receives from the voter an encrypted ballot and a second voter confirmation value....
06/17/2008
7386465Computer implemented resource allocation model and process to dynamically and optimally schedule an arbitrary number of resources subject to an arbitrary number of constraints in the managed care, health care and/or pharmacy industry
A method of allocating resources includes scheduling jobs from among a plurality of resources of a work-producing system. The work producing system is a pharmacy. The method includes the steps of sorting, in a predetermined order, available resources to be utilized ...
06/10/2008
7386467Apparatus and method of maintaining and improving agent performance
A method and apparatus are provided for maintaining and improving a performance level of an agent performing a plurality of tasks. The method includes the steps of providing a performance threshold for each task of the plurality of tasks, measuring a performance par...
06/10/2008
7383198Delivery information systems and methods
Systems and methods support dental patient scheduling relating to one or more dental appliances by communicating manufacturing progress information with a patient computer over a wide area network; and performing patient scheduling when one or more dental appliances...
06/03/2008
7379890System and method for profit maximization in retail industry
A computer-based method and system accomplish automatic optimization of a preferred merchandising figure of merit like revenue, profit, etc. by concurrent optimization of prices and in-store promotion schedules for groups of interrelated products in a supermarket or...
05/27/2008
7379888System and method for generating a schedule based on resource assignments
A system for generating a schedule by generating assignments for the tasks of a project and sequentially scheduling the individual assignments to available resources. First, input information is received which includes a resource calendar and a task list. A resource...
05/27/2008
7373311Method for constructing an updateable database of subject behavior patterns
Disclosed is a method for maintaining compact descriptions of the behavior of customers in a database of information relating to customer transactions. Of all possible variables that might be used to characterize customer transactions, a limited number are selected ...
05/13/2008
7363243System and method for predicting external events from electronic posting activity
A system and method for collecting and analyzing electronic discussion messages to categorize the message communications and the identify trends and patterns in pre-determined markets. Electronic messages are collected and analyzed according to characteristics and d...
04/22/2008
7363273Debit purchasing of stored value card for use by and/or delivery to others
A method of issuing a purchase card is provided. The method includes the steps of presenting a purchaser with the opportunity to buy the purchase card, determining whether the purchaser has sufficient funds to pay for the purchase card, creating a purchase card acco...
04/22/2008
7346527Method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended enterprise environment
Method, system, and storage medium for facilitating supplier auditing functions in a communications network environment. The method includes receiving a request from a user system associated with an enterprise system to initiate an activity. The activity includes sc...
03/18/2008
7346530Flexible ordering of inventory from material sources according to material requirements for manufacturing operations
A method, computer system, computer program product, and signal embodied on a carrier wave for scheduling delivery of material to a manufacturer with a plurality of manufacturing lines. Each manufacturing line may include at least one operation, and deliveries are m...
03/18/2008
7343313Method and apparatus for scheduling a meeting
A method of and processing function for a resource for facilitating scheduling a meeting the method 200 including specifying 203 individuals to participate in the meeting and desired resources for facilitating the meeting; communicating 207 with...
03/11/2008
7340411System and method for generating, capturing, and managing customer lead information over a computer network
A customer lead management system that relates to a system and method for collecting and organizing customer-marketing data, which is then made available to business representatives to assess. Specifically, using a computer network, and data on a potential customer'...
03/04/2008
7340407Sound control method
A system for acoustical performance enhancement, where combinations of component solutions are tested or modeled and given performance ratings. A builder desiring an sound control upgrade forwards project information, such as building plans and the desired performan...
03/04/2008
7328183Computer program and method for determining the economic impact of long-term care
A computer program and method is provided that enables professional advisors, as well as individuals, to improve their understanding of the risks associated with long-term health care in effort to make informed decisions regarding long-term care insurance. The compu...
02/05/2008
7319973Method of estimating expected revenues from business directory books
A new system of analyzing advertising revenue derivation is provided that is particularly useful for predicting an amount of revenue that can be expected from advertisements placed in a business directory book having a certain geographic coverage. The system compris...
01/15/2008
7308422System for recording and distributing recorded information over the internet
A system for recording and distributing information is described. The system includes a controller computer capable of establishing a communications connection via a communications interface with information providers and users. The controller computer also maintain...
12/11/2007
7308414System and method for analyzing an operation of an organization
A method for analyzing an operation of an organization, especially in the context of an outsourcing. The method includes decomposing the operation along a value chain containing a plurality of processes, associating a process of the value chain with an element that ...
12/11/2007
7305351System and method for managing risk and opportunity
A method of projecting a future condition of a business entity by identifying a plurality of risks and a plurality of opportunities for the business entity and evaluating at predetermined times a potential impact of each of the risks and each of the opportunities on...
12/04/2007
7292989Method and system for managing carrier operations
The method and system of the present invention use a plurality of timing data to determine a transportation schedule or schedule(s). The transpiration schedule or schedules include a series of precise timing windows for pickup and delivery of products moving from su...
11/06/2007
7292988Installation support information system collaborative tool
In scheduling and controlling the upgrading of major assets such as a capital ship, the need for upgrades to various elements found on ships are determined, and the upgrade of each piece of equipment is documented as a change product. The change product documentary ...
11/06/2007
7277864Sustainability ratings and benchmarking for legal entities
Computer-based rating of the sustainability of legal entities. Data is stored concerning at least non-economic factors of legal entities, and is used to compute sustainability scores for each entity's performance. Financial and economic criteria may also be stored a...
10/02/2007
7263495Order scheduling system and methodology
An order scheduling system providing a method for distributing product orders to multiple fulfillers is described. This method, which solves the common business problem of scheduling order shipments, is optimal because it minimizes the number of orders across fulfil...
08/28/2007
7249045Method and system to connect consumers to information
This invention provides for a method of (or apparatus for) facilitating the delivery of advice to consumers using a server unit which can store and display the names and characteristics of experts and then rapidly assist in connecting the expert and consumer for rea...
07/24/2007
7249046Optimum operator selection support system
An optimum operator selection support system, executed by a computer, includes a document computer executable management part, a document feature computer executable extraction part, and a job feature computer executable extraction part. The document computer execut...
07/24/2007
7249048Incorporating predicrive models within interactive business analysis processes
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that incorporates predictive models. The system is used by business users who are unfamiliar with the art of data mining. The predictive model, which is constructed by a model-building mechanism in a data mining subsys...
07/24/2007
7240022Demographic information gathering and incentive award system and method
A system and method provides web site proprietors with demographics information about the users who visit their web sites, and provides web site visitors with incentive awards (i.e., points) in exchange for providing the demographics information and interacting with...
07/03/2007
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