Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. A method for providing a store compensation system using network-based computer software applications to integrate and manipulate employee payroll and human resource information to determine and monitor employee compensation for single or multi-location companies, wherein said method comprises the steps of:
inputting employment data into a store’s Point of Sale system for each employee;
recording the sales transaction data for said employee;
uploading said transaction data to a central database;
calculating the compensation due said employee; and
recalculating said compensation at predetermined times;
wherein said calculating includes base salary, commissions, overtime, premiums, bonuses and pay for time not worked; and
wherein said recalculating is done to determine the consistency of the compensation to said employee.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A two-substance atomizing nozzle for spraying a liquid with the aid of a compressed gas, said nozzle having a longitudinal axis and comprising:
a mixing chamber;
a liquid inlet in communication with a source of liquid and opening into said mixing chamber;
a gas inlet in communication with a source of compressed gas, said gas inlet opening into said mixing chamber such that pressurized gas flows from said gas inlet and into said mixing chamber and mixes with liquid in said mixing chamber;
an outlet adjoining said mixing chamber and being disposed downstream of said mixing chamber in a liquid supply direction, said outlet including a first outlet part which converges inwardly towards the axis as said first outlet part extends in the liquid supply direction and a second outlet part disposed downstream of said first outlet part in the liquid supply direction, said second outlet part diverging outwardly away from the axis as said second outlet part extends in the liquid supply direction, said second outlet part terminating at an outlet opening disposed downstream of said mixing chamber in the liquid supply direction, said outlet being disposed to guide a stream of liquid mixed with compressed gas from said mixing chamber to said outlet opening; and
an annular gap surrounding said outlet opening and in communication with a source of compressed gas, said annular gap being disposed and configured to discharge pressurized gas at a high speed adjacent said outlet opening to draw out a liquid film located on an inner wall of said second outlet part into thin liquid lamellas which break into small drops.
2. The two-substance nozzle of claim 1, further including a component defining a peripheral wall disposed in surrounding relation with said second outlet part and having a terminal downstream end which defines a terminal edge, said second outlet part having a downstream terminal outlet edge which defines said outlet opening, said terminal edge of said component being spaced radially outwardly from said outlet edge of said second outlet part to define said annular gap therebetween.
3. The two-substance nozzle of claim 2, wherein said terminal edge of said component extends axially beyond said outlet edge of said second outlet part in the liquid supply direction.
4. The two-substance nozzle of claim 3, wherein said terminal edge of said component extends axially beyond said outlet edge of said second outlet part by an amount between 5% and 20% of a diameter of said outlet opening.
5. The two-substance nozzle of claim 2, further including an inner tube defining said mixing chamber therein and having a downstream end adjoining an upstream end of said first outlet part of said outlet, said gas inlet being defined in said inner tube, and an outer tube defining a first chamber at least partially surrounding said inner tube and in communication with a source of compressed gas, said peripheral wall of said component defining a second chamber disposed upstream of said annular gap and in communication therewith, and an inlet bore extending between said first and second chambers to permit compressed gas flow from said first chamber to said second chamber.
6. The two-substance nozzle of claim 1, further including a source of compressed gas in communication with both said gas inlet and said annular gap, wherein said source of compressed gas is connected to said gas inlet and said annular gap by one of: a single line; and respective separate lines.
7. The two-substance nozzle of claim 1, further including a first source of compressed gas in communication with said gas inlet and a second source of compressed gas in communication with said annular gap, said first and second sources of compressed gas being independent from one another such that pressures of compressed gas supplied to said gas inlet and to said annular gap are set independently from one another.
8. The two-substance nozzle of claim 1, further including an inner tube defining said mixing chamber therein and having a downstream end adjoining an upstream end of said first outlet part of said outlet, said gas inlet including an inlet bore disposed in said inner tube to impart a swirl about the axis to a mixture of compressed gas and liquid in said mixing chamber.
9. The two-substance nozzle of claim 8, wherein said inlet bore opens into said mixing chamber and is oriented tangentially to an imaginary circle centered on the axis to produce a swirl in a first direction about the axis to a mixture of compressed gas and liquid in said mixing chamber.
10. The two-substance nozzle of claim 9, wherein said gas inlet includes a plurality of said inlet bores which are first inlet bores, said first inlet bores all being oriented in a first plane oriented perpendicular to the axis, said first inlet bores being circumferentially spaced from one another about the axis.
11. The two-substance nozzle of claim 10, wherein said gas inlet includes a plurality of second inlet bores opening into said mixing chamber and oriented tangentially to an imaginary circle centered on the axis to produce a swirl in a second direction about the axis opposite to the first direction, said second inlet bores all being oriented in a second plane oriented perpendicular to the axis and spaced axially from the first plane, said second inlet bores being circumferentially spaced from one another about the axis.
12. The two-substance nozzle of claim 11, wherein said gas inlet includes a plurality of third inlet bores opening into said mixing chamber and oriented tangentially to an imaginary circle centered on the axis to produce a swirl in the first direction, said third inlet bores all being oriented in a third plane oriented perpendicular to the axis and spaced axially from the first and second planes, said third inlet bores being circumferentially spaced from one another about the axis and the second plane of said second inlet bores being disposed axially between the first and third planes.
13. The two-substance nozzle of claim 1, further including a veil-of-air nozzle disposed in at least partially surrounding relation with said outlet opening and said annular gap.
14. The two-substance nozzle of claim 13, further including a component defining a peripheral wall disposed in surrounding relation with said second outlet part and having a terminal downstream end which defines a terminal edge, said second outlet part having a downstream terminal outlet edge which defines said outlet opening, said terminal edge of said component being spaced radially outwardly from said outlet edge of said second outlet part to define said annular gap therebetween, said veil-of-air nozzle having a terminal downstream edge spaced radially outwardly from said terminal edge of said component to define a veil-of-air annular gap in communication with a source of compressed gas, said veil-of-air annular gap being larger than said annular gap.
15. The two-substance nozzle of claim 13, wherein said veil-of-air nozzle is fed with compressed gas of a pressure lower than a pressure of compressed gas supplied to said annular gap.
16. The two-substance nozzle of claim 1, further including a component having a peripheral wall disposed in at least partially surrounding relation with said second outlet part, said peripheral wall having a downstream end defining a terminal edge, said second outlet part having a downstream terminal edge which defines said outlet opening, said terminal edge of said peripheral wall being spaced radially from said terminal edge of said second outlet part to define said annular gap therebetween, said peripheral wall having a frusto-conical configuration which diverges inwardly towards the axis as said peripheral wall extends in the liquid supply direction.
17. The two-substance nozzle of claim 16, wherein said peripheral wall of said component is spaced radially outwardly from said second outlet part to define a chamber therebetween in communication with a source of compressed gas, said chamber being disposed upstream of and in communication with said annular gap to supply pressurized gas thereto.
18. A two-substance atomizing nozzle for spraying a liquid with the aid of a compressed gas, the nozzle comprising:
a mixing chamber;
a liquid inlet opening out into the mixing chamber;
a compressed gas inlet opening out into the mixing chamber;
an outlet opening downstream of the mixing chamber, the outlet opening being formed by a peripheral wall, an outermost end of the peripheral wall forming an outlet edge; and
an annular gap arranged in a region of the outlet edge and surrounding the outlet opening for discharging compressed gas at high speed, the annular gap being formed between the outlet edge and an outer annular gap wall having an outer end forming an annular gap wall edge, the annular gap wall edge being arranged downstream of the outlet edge in an outflow direction by between 5% and 20% of a diameter of the outlet opening.
19. A two-substance atomizing nozzle for spraying a liquid with the aid of a compressed gas, said nozzle defining a central longitudinal axis and comprising:
a first tubular component defining a mixing chamber therein and having a liquid inlet in communication with a source of liquid, said first tubular component defining therein a gas inlet in communication with a source of compressed gas, both said liquid inlet and said gas inlet opening into said mixing chamber to cause both liquid and pressurized gas to flow into said mixing chamber and to mix with one another within said mixing chamber;
a second tubular component adjoining said first tubular component and being disposed downstream of said mixing chamber in a liquid supply direction, said second tubular component having a first part with a frusto-conical configuration which diverges inwardly as same projects along the axis in the liquid supply direction, and a second part adjoining said first part and being disposed downstream thereof, said second part having a frusto-conical configuration which diverges outwardly as same projects along the axis in the liquid supply direction, said second part having a downstream end which terminates at a nozzle opening disposed downstream of said mixing chamber for discharging a stream of liquid mixed with compressed gas from said mixing chamber; and
a third tubular component disposed adjacent said nozzle opening, said third tubular component defining a chamber therein in communication with a source of compressed gas and having a terminal downstream end spaced from said downstream end of said second part to define an annular gap disposed in surrounding relation with said nozzle opening to discharge compressed gas at a high speed adjacent said nozzle opening and draw out a liquid film located on an inner wall of said second part into thin liquid lamellas.
20. The two-substance nozzle of claim 19, wherein said second part of said second tubular component is disposed within said third tubular component, said third tubular component having a frusto-conical configuration which diverges inwardly towards the axis as said third tubular component projects along the axis in the liquid supply direction.

1. A method for calibrating and analyzing data from a mass spectrometer, comprising the steps of:
a. acquiring raw profile mode data containing mass spectral responses of ions with or without isotopes;
b. calculating theoretical isotope distributions for each of at least one calibration ion based on elemental composition;
c. convoluting the theoretical isotope distributions with an initial peak shape function to obtain theoretical isotope profiles for each ion;
d. constructing a peak component matrix including the theoretical isotope profiles for calibration ions as peak components;
e. performing a regression analysis between the raw profile mode mass spectral data and the peak component matrix; and
f. reporting the regression coefficients as the relative concentrations for each of the components.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
g. using the relative concentrations as combination coefficients, to provide a linear combination of all calculated isotope distributions of step b.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
h. calculating at least one of a peak shape function and a calibration filter through convolution and deconvolution between the results of step a. and step g.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:
i. when a calibration filter is calculated, applying the calibration filter to raw data from step a.; and
j. performing the convolution of step c. using a target peak shape function specified for calculation of the calibration filter in place of initial peak shape function.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:
iteratively repeating steps d. through j. until the relative concentrations or calibration filter or both converge.
6. The method of claim 5, where the process is iterative and includes calculating theoretical isotope profiles based on one of initial estimated peak shape functions and refined peak shape functions.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein:
k. the convolution of step c. is performed using the peak shape function.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:
iteratively repeating steps d. through h. and k. until the relative concentrations or calibration filter or both converge.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein baseline components are included in the regression analysis.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein baseline components are represented as linear or nonlinear functions.
11. The method of claim 1, where the regression is a multiple linear regression.
12. The method of claim 11, where the multiple linear regression is performed with weights for each mass spectral point.
13. The method of claim 11, where the multiple linear regression is performed with mass spectral centroids after peak analysis on both the profile mode mass spectral data and theoretical isotope profiles.
14. The method of claim 1, where the process is iterative and starts with initial estimated peak shape functions.
15. The method of claim 1, where the process becomes a single pass process when the relative contributions of overlapped ions are known or given.
16. The method of claim 1, where one of actual peak shape function and calibration filter is obtained by using a deconvolution operation involving actual measured mass spectral profile mode data and a linear combination of theoretically calculated isotope distributions.
17. A method for calibrating a mass spectrometer, comprising:
generating fragment ions of known elemental compositions within the mass spectrometer;
acquiring profile mode mass spectral data of the fragment ions;
calculating theoretical isotope distribution for each of the fragment ions; and
calculating mass spectral calibration filters through at least one of convolution and deconvolution involving the acquired profile mode mass spectral data and theoretical isotope distributions for said ions.
18. A method to avoid mass spectral nonlinearity in one of mass spectral calibration and mass spectral data analysis, comprising:
acquiring mass spectral data in profile mode in a mass spectral range;
measuring one of ion counts or relative abundances for isotope clusters within said mass spectral range and comparing to a nonlinearity threshold;
excluding all the mass spectral sub-regions with nonlinearity from later mass spectral calibration and mass spectral data analysis;
excluding corresponding isotopes from the theoretically calculated isotope distributions; and
performing a mass spectral calibration or mass spectral data analysis involving theoretical isotope distributions and acquired profile mode data through one of convolution, deconvolution, and regression operation.
19. A method for calibrating a mass spectrometer for higher mass accuracy than otherwise available, comprising:
operating the mass spectrometer at a slower scanning and higher resolution mode;
acquiring profile mode mass spectral data containing at least one standard ions of known elemental compositions in one or more mass spectral segments;
calculating theoretical isotope distribution for each of the standard ions; and
calculating mass spectral calibration filters through at least one of convolution and deconvolution involving the acquired profile mode mass spectral data and theoretical isotope distributions for said ions.
20. A mass spectrometer system operated in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 19.
21. A computer readable medium having computer readable program instructions readable by the computer for causing a mass spectrometer system to perform in accordance with the methods of any one of claims 1 to 19.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A circuit adapted to be responsive to an input current supplied to an input terminal of the circuit, comprising:
an input stage adapted to establish a first bias voltage at the input terminal in response to the input current;
a current stage adapted to produce at least one mirror current proportional to the input current in response to the first bias voltage and a second bias voltage;
a feedback stage adapted to produce a feedback current proportional to the input current in response to the at least one mirror current; and
a reference bias stage adapted to establish the second bias voltage in response to the feedback current from the feedback stage, whereby the first and second bias voltages track the input current.
2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the at least one current includes a bias current and a main mirror current.
3. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the feedback stage includes:
a reference voltage stage adapted to establish third and fourth bias voltages in response to the bias current and the main mirror current; and
a current source adapted to produce the feedback current in response to the third and fourth bias voltages.
4. A bias circuit for establishing bias voltages from an input current supplied to an input terminal of the bias circuit, comprising:
input stage means for establishing a first bias voltage at the input terminal in response to the input current;
current stage means for producing a bias current and a main mirror current each proportional to the input current in response to the first bias voltage and a second bias voltage;
feedback stage means for producing a feedback current proportional to the input current in response to the bias current and the main mirror current; and
reference bias stage means for establishing the second bias voltage in response to the feedback current, whereby the first and second bias voltages track the input current.
5. The circuit of claim 4, further comprising means for setting a value of the input current supplied to the input terminal.
6. The circuit of claim 4, further comprising start-up stage means for providing a trickle-current to the reference bias stage to force the bias circuit into a stable operating condition.
7. The circuit of claim 4, further comprising shut-down stage means for selectively enabling and disabling the supply of the input current to the input terminal so as to selectively enable and disable an operation of the bias circuit, respectively.
8. A method of establishing bias voltages suitable for biasing current sources from an input current supplied to a bias circuit, comprising:
(a) receiving the input current;
(b) establishing a first bias voltage in response to the input current;
(c) producing at least one mirror current proportional to the input current in response to the first bias voltage and a second bias voltage;
(d) producing a feedback current proportional to the input current in response to the at least one mirror current; and
(e) establishing the second bias voltage in response to the feedback current of step (d), whereby the first and second bias voltages track the input current.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein step (c) comprises:
(c)(i) producing a main mirror current proportional to the input current in response to the first bias voltage and the second bias voltage; and
(c)(ii) producing a bias current proportional to the input current in response to the first bias voltage and the second bias voltage.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein step (d) comprises:
(d)(i) establishing third and fourth bias voltages in response to the bias current and the main mirror current; and
(d)(ii) producing the feedback current in response to the third and fourth bias voltages.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein:
step (b) and step (e) together comprise establishing the first and second bias voltages such that the first and second bias voltages are suitable for biasing one or more current sources of a first type; and
step (d)(i) comprises establishing the third and fourth bias voltages such that the third and fourth bias voltages are suitable for biasing current sources of a second type complementary to the first type.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
supplying a trickle current to establish a stable operating condition of the bias circuit.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
reducing the trickle current from an initial current value to a final current value in response to a rise in the second bias voltage indicative of the stable operating condition.
14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
selectively enabling and disabling the circuit by selectively enabling and disabling the input current in step (a) in response to an enabledisable signal.