A consumer-based bill management and payment system is configured to receive, analyze, manage and pay electronic billing statements received from the biller over the Internet The system includes a notification manager that detects when the electronic bill arrives and notifies the consumer The bill is stored in memory with other unpaid electronic bills According to another aspect of the invention, the system has a cashflow analyzer that enables the consumer to coordinate the unpaid electronic bills according to different payment schedules for a bill payment cycle (eg, a month) The goal of the manipulation is to permit the consumer to analyze how the different payment schedules affect the consumer's cashflow with an aim toward minimizing overdraft during the bill payment cycle The cashflow analyzer can automatically compute an optimized payment schedule that minimizes overdraft of the consumer's account, while maximizing the balance to generate the most interest When the consumer desires to pay a particular bill, the bill is presented to the consumer through a graphical user interface (UI) The bill management and payment system supports a payment analyzer to enable the consumer to determine how much of the electronic bill to pay The payment analyzer provides a venue to challenge certain items on the bill

Consumer-based system and method for managing and paying electronic billing statements

A wheel support bearing assembly, which enables an increase in the strength and the fatigue strength of its wheel mounting flange or vehicle body fitting flange against high stress and repeated stress and the suppression of the increase of the number of processes, includes an inner member and an outer member rotatable relative to each other through rolling elements. The flange is formed on the inner member or the outer member, for example, a hub. A component part having the flange is a hot-forged product of steel in which a matrix portion is formed as a standard structure and the non-standard structural portion is formed on the surface of the flange. The non-standard structure is formed of either of a fine ferrite/pearlite structure, an upper bainite structure, a lower bainite structure, and a tempered martensite structure, or mixture of two or more of these structures.

Bearing device for wheel

A system and methods for implementing education online by providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of courses to be taken by students online, the courses including assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the students over a network such as the Internet. Various levels of functionality are provided through a three-tiered licensing program that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. In addition, an open platform system is provided such that anyone with access to the Internet can create, manage, and offer a course to anyone else with access to the Internet without the need for an affiliation with an institution, thus enabling the virtual classroom to extend worldwide.

Internet-based education support system and methods

An electric power-steering device has a speed-reducing mechanism (17) for reducing the speed of an output shaft (16) of an electric motor (15). The speed-reducing mechanism (17) has an internal gear (39) engaged and rotated with the output shaft (16) and an external gear (40) with which the internal gear (39) internally meshes. A drive pulley (41) rotatable together with the external gear (40) and a driven pulley (42) provided so as to surround a steering shaft are connected by an endless belt (43). Speed reduction is obtained by the internal gear (39) and the external gear (40), and the speed-reducing mechanism (17) as a whole achieves a high reduction ratio without greatly reducing the diameter of the drive pulley (41).

Electric power-steering device

The present invention relates to modulators of ATP-Binding Cassette (“ABC”) transporters or fragments thereof, including Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator, compositions thereof, and methods therewith. The present invention also relates to methods of treating ABC transporter mediated diseases using such modulators.

Modulators of atp-binding cassette transporters

A traction control device for a vehicle decreases the driving torque for a driving wheel connected to a power source through an automatic transmission in response to the detection of an excessively slipping tendency of the driving wheel at the time of acceleration of the vehicle. In the traction control device, the shifting motion of the automatic transmission is predicted by a shifting predicting means based on operational parameters of the power source and a shifting characteristic of the automatic transmission. The operational parameters of the power source are assumed by an foreseeing means based on values before shifting of the operational parameters of the power source and operational parameters of the vehicle as well as gear shift positions detected before and after shifting by a gear shift position detecting means. An actuator for changing the driving torque for the driving wheel is operated by a driving torque control section for determining a control quantity of driving torque based on detection values before shifting and assumed values after shifting of the operational parameters of the power source. As a result, the driving wheel speed is stabilized immediately at the completion of the shifting operation of the automatic transmission.

Traction control device for vehicle

With the method of the present invention, a detected value in the longitudinal acceleration-deceleration detector can be corrected for a gradient of a slope acting on the detector when the vehicle is traveling on a sloped road surface Assuming that a vehicle is traveling on an upward slope or a downward slope, a value in a vertical acceleration-deceleration detector is detected A determination is made as to whether the vehicle is traveling on the upward or downward slope using a corrected value which is closest to a pseudo-acceleration or deceleration based on wheel speeds This enables a more accurate estimation of the longitudinal acceleration or deceleration by using the corrected value which is closest to the pseudo-acceleration or deceleration

Method for estimating longitudinal acceleration or deceleration of a vehicle body

The damping force of a damper on a motor vehicle is automatically controlled dependent on the running condition of the motor vehicle and the road condition in which the motor vehicle travels. An acceleration of vertical vibration of the motor vehicle body is detected by a sensor, and a binary pulse signal indicative of a variation in the acceleration is produced. Then, a first signal is generated on the basis of whether the pulse duration of the binary pulse signal is at least a prescribed value or smaller than the prescribed value. Thereafter, a second signal is produced indicating the magnitude of the absolute value of the acceleration. Finally, the damping force of the damper is selectively adjusted to hard, normal, and soft settings based on a combination of the first and second signals.

Method of controlling damping force of damper

The longitudinal force operating on the whole vehicle is computed by the processor control and divided among the separate wheels w.r.t their comparative loadings. The latter is determined when stationary and is corrected w.r.t the dynamics of the vehicle. Motion sensors monitor the longitudinal movement of the vehicle as well as lateral movements. The longitudinal forces can be simple braking forces and controlled by separate brake pressures. The system can be extended to torque control for the driven wheels. The control computes the position of the centre of mass and computes the effects on the vehicle motion changes due to the position of the centre-of-mass (gravity). ADVANTAGE - Improved vehicle handling, improved braking and safety.

Braking and acceleration control for vehicle - involves computing individual longitudinal forces operating on wheel and optimising braking distribution or torque distribution

A braking force control system of a vehicle includes a deviation reference control quantity determining device for determining an operation control quantity for the actuator on the basis of a deviation between a target deceleration determined on the basis of a quantity of operation of a brake operating member and a detected deceleration of the vehicle. In this control system, the level of operation speed is judged in accordance with whether or not the variation per unit time in quantity of operation of the brake operating member exceeds a preset value. Following two states are switched over from one to another by a switch device: a state 1) in which the operation of the actuator is controlled with an operation control quantity determined in the deviation reference control quantity determining device, when it is decided that the operation speed is slow or low, and a state 2) in which the operation of the actuator is controlled with an operation control quantity determined in an operation quantity reference quantity determining device for determining the operation control quantity on the basis of the quantity of operation of the brake operating member, when the operation speed is fast or high. Thus, the generation of an overshooting can be avoided to improve the responsiveness.

Hiromi Inagaki

Papers

Traction control device for vehicle

Method for estimating longitudinal acceleration or deceleration of a vehicle body

Method of controlling damping force of damper

Braking and acceleration control for vehicle - involves computing individual longitudinal forces operating on wheel and optimising braking distribution or torque distribution

Braking force control system of vehicle