Author: claimsbot

1. A graphics display system, comprising:
a host to provide at least one parameter specifying an image size of a frame of pixels corresponding to an original image;
an image data source to provide the original image; and
a graphics controller to receive the frame corresponding with the original image from the image data source, the graphics controller being remote from the image data source and the host, and including:
(a) a memory of a particular size to store a scaled frame;
(b) a register to store the size of a portion of the memory allocated to store the scaled frame;
(c) a fitting module to receive the at least one image size parameter from the host and to calculate a scale factor based on the original image size and the size of the portion of the memory allocated to store the scaled frame, wherein the register is only accessible by the fitting module, and
(d) a scaling unit to scale the original image according to the scale factor.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the portion of the memory allocated to store the scaled frame is one of at least two different sizes.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the scaling unit down-scales the image for storing in the memory.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the host and the image data source are remote from each other.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the image data source is a camera.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the fitting module is additionally to issue a query to and receive from the image data source the at least one image size parameter.
7. A graphics controller for interfacing a host and an image data source, comprising:
(a) a memory having allocable memory capacity to store a scaled frame of pixels;
(b) a register to store an original image size parameter, the original image size parameter corresponding with an original image;
(c) a register to store a scaled image size parameter;
(d) a fitting module to calculate a scale factor based on the original image size parameter and the scaled image size parameter; and
(e) a scaling unit to scale the original image according to the scale factor, wherein the graphics controller is remote from the image data source and the host, and wherein the scaled image size parameter corresponds with the size of the portion of the memory allocated to the scaled frame.
8. The graphics controller of claim 7, wherein the fitting module is additionally to issue a query to the host and to receive from the host the original image size parameter.
9. The graphics controller of claim 7, wherein the fitting module is additionally to issue a query to the image data source and to receive from the image data source the original image size parameter.
10. The graphics controller of claim 7, wherein the fitting module is additionally to determine the size of the portion of the memory allocated to store a frame and thereby determine the scaled image size parameter.

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 method for assessing an concentration of a fluid component within a container, comprising:
at a computing system in communication with an image acquisition device, receiving data associated with an image of the container generated by the image acquisition device;
from the image, detecting a color grid comprising an array of color elements coupled to the container, wherein each color element of the color grid is associated with at least one of a set of colors;
at the computing system, selecting a region of the image associated with the container; and
at the computing system, determining a concentration of the fluid component from the region of the image based upon processing of information derived from the color grid.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the color grid comprises: detecting corner features of the color grid.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting the color grid further comprises:
fitting a homography between canonical space and an image space associated with the image; with the homography, transforming each of a set of regions, associated with a color element of the color grid, from canonical space to the image space
4. A method of claim 1, further comprising: at the computing system, determining a first true color characteristic corresponding to a first color in the set of colors captured in the image, based upon a position of the first shade of a color in the color grid.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first true color characteristic is determined from a reference dataset of the color grid, and wherein generating the image comprises adjusting at least one component color setting of the image to align the first color characteristic of the first true color characteristic.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating a fit parameter derived from alignment of the first color characteristic in the image to the first true color characteristic; and providing an indication of suitability of the image, based upon the fit parameter.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the concentration of the fluid component from the region of the image comprises determining the concentration from a set of color parameters derived from the region of the image.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the concentration from the set of color parameters comprises transforming at least one color component into the concentration representative of the region.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining an amount of the fluid component within the container, the amount derived from the concentration multiplied by the volume of fluid within the container.
10. A method for assessing the concentration of a fluid component received at a fluid receiver, the method implemented at a computer system and comprising:
receiving data associated with an image of the fluid receiver;
from the image, detecting a color grid comprising an array of color elements in proximity to the fluid receiver, wherein each color element of the color grid is associated with at least one of a set of colors;
selecting a region of the image corresponding to a portion of the fluid receiver; and
determining the concentration of the fluid component from the region of the image, based upon processing of information derived from the color grid.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving data associated with an image of the fluid receiver comprises receiving data associated with the image of at least one of: a canister, a test strip, an absorbent pad, a surgical textile, a sponge, a fluid receiving bag, a drape, a cell salvage system, and a drain device.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein detecting the color grid comprises: detecting a positional feature of the color grid; determining an identifier of the fluid receiver upon decoding information from the color grid; and retrieving a template of the color grid in canonical space upon reception of the identifier.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: determining a first true color characteristic corresponding to a first color in the set of colors captured in the image, based upon a position of the first color in the color grid in the image; and generating an adjusted image upon adjusting a color setting of the image to align a first color characteristic of the first color in the adjusted image to the first true color characteristic; wherein the first true color characteristic is determined from a reference dataset of the color grid, and wherein generating the adjusted image comprises adjusting at least one of a red component color setting, a green component color setting, and a blue component color setting of the image to align the first color characteristic of the first color in the adjusted image to the first true color characteristic.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the concentration of the fluid component from the region of the adjusted image comprises at least one of 1) associating a color value of the region of the adjusted image with a color element of the color grid, wherein the color element of the color grid is associated with a predetermined concentration of the fluid component; and 2) generating a set of color parameters from the region of the adjusted image, and determining the concentration of the fluid component based upon a parametric model that receives the set of color parameters as inputs.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising removing noise from the region of the adjusted image based upon an algorithm configured remove any pixels from the region whose color value is significantly different from a median color value of pixels of the region.
16. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the concentration of the fluid component from the region of the adjusted image comprises determining the concentration from a set of color parameters derived from the region of the adjusted image, the set of color parameters including a red component, a green component, and a blue component.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein determining a concentration of the fluid component from the region comprises determining the concentration of a bodily fluid component derived from at least one of: urine, saline, ascites, bile, irrigant saliva, gastric fluid, mucus, pleural fluid, interstitial fluid, and fecal matter.
18. A system for assessing an amount of a fluid component, the system comprising:
a fluid receiver coupled to a color grid, the color grid comprising an array of color elements in proximity to the fluid receiver, wherein each color element of the color grid is associated with at least one of a set of colors;
an image acquisition device configured to capture an image of the fluid receiver and the color grid within a window of view; and
a computing system in communication with the image acquisition device and comprising:
a first module configured to detect the color grid within the image;
a second module configured to determine a first true color characteristic corresponding to a first color in the set of colors captured in the image, based upon a position of the first color in the color grid in the image;
a third module configured to generate an adjusted image upon adjusting a color setting of the image to align a first color characteristic of the first color in the adjusted image to the first true color characteristic;
a fourth module configured to determine a concentration of the fluid component from a region of the adjusted image corresponding to a portion of the fluid receiver; and
a fifth module configured to generate an analysis indicative of the amount of the fluid component at the fluid receiver, based upon the concentration of the fluid component and a volume of fluid received at the fluid receiver.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the image acquisition device comprises a display configured to render fluid component amount information, derived from the analysis.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the fluid receiver comprises a canister configured to receive fluid including a blood component, wherein the color grid is integrated with a quick response code including the array of color elements, and wherein the computing system is configured to decode an identifier of the canister from the quick response code.
21. The system of claim 18, wherein the fourth module of the computing system is configured to determine a hemoglobin concentration associated with the region, upon processing a red color component, a green color component, and a blue color component of the region with a parametric model, and wherein the fifth module of the computing system is configured to determine a hemoglobin mass associated with the volume of fluid received at the fluid receiver.

1. Headwear comprising:
a crown including a plurality of cloth sheets attached to one another; and
a headband attached to a lower peripheral edge of said crown, said headband made of two sheets of cloth excluding polyurethane yarn, wherein said plurality of cloth sheets are attached to one another by elastic connecting portions and spaced such that said elastic connecting portions are visible on an outer surface of the crown whether expanded or unexpanded, wherein said headband is made by arranging 400 bundles in warp-way and 2 bundles in weft-way, each bundle being consisted of 48 high elastic yarns and each yarn being 170D.
2. The headwear as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of cloth sheets of said crown is made of a biaxially stretchable elastic fabric.
3. The headwear as set forth in claim 1, wherein said headband stretches 25% to 45% under a weight of 1.8 Kg after 10 seconds, and demonstrates 0.4% to 3% of residual rate within 30 seconds of weight removal.
4. The headwear as set forth in claim 1, wherein said headband stretches 25% to 45% under a weight of 1.8 Kg after 10 seconds, and demonstrates 0.4% to 3% of residual rate within 30 seconds of weight removal.
5. Headwear comprising:
a crown including a plurality of cloth sheets, at least two of which are joined by an elastic connecting portion; and
a headband attached to a lower peripheral edge of said crown, said headband made of two sheets of elastic cloth woven in two ply to have a tunnel shape and excluding polyurethane yarn, wherein said headband stretches 25% to 45% under a weight of 1.8 Kg after 10 seconds, and demonstrates 0.4% to 3% of residual rate within 30 seconds of weight removal, wherein said headband is made by arranging 400 bundles in warp-way and 2 bundles in weft-way, each bundle being consisted of 48 high elastic yarns and each yarn being 170D.
6. The headwear as set forth in claim 5, wherein said headband stretches 25% to 45% under a weight of 1.8 Kg after 10 seconds, and demonstrates 0.4% to 3% of residual rate within 30 seconds of weight removal.
7. The headwear as set forth in claim 6, wherein at least one of said plurality of cloth sheets of said crown is made of a biaxially stretchable elastic fabric.
8. The headwear as set forth in claim 5, wherein said elastic connecting portion is only visible on an outer surface of the crown when in an expanded state.
9. The headwear as set forth in claim 5, wherein said plurality of cloth sheets are spaced such that said elastic connecting portion is visible on an outer surface of the crown whether expanded or unexpanded.
10. A headband for a baseball-style cap made by arranging 400 bundles in warp-way and 2 bundles in weft-way, each bundle being consisted of 48 high elastic yarns and each yarn being 170D, said headband stretching 25% to 45% under a weight of 1.8 Kg after 10 seconds, demonstrating 0.4% to 3% of residual rate within 30 seconds of weight removal, and excluding polyurethane yarn.

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 food preparation apparatus, comprising:
an enclosed food preparation chamber;
a carriage comprising a cup holder;
a motor that elevates the carriage and a cup within the cup holder into the preparation chamber from a starting position and returns the carriage and cup to the starting position; and
a cup sensing beam utilized to detect the presence of the cup within the cup holder, the apparatus configured to elevate the carriage and cup only if a cup is detected by the cup sensing beam.
2. The food preparation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a receiver to detect the beam or interruption thereof, the receiver shielded, at least partially, from ambient light.
3. The food preparation apparatus of claim 2, wherein the receiver is located above the cup.
4. A food preparation apparatus, comprising:
a food preparation chamber;
a carriage comprising a cup holder;
a motor that elevates the carriage and a cup within the cup holder into the preparation chamber from a starting position and returns the carriage and cup to the starting position, the apparatus configured to maintain the carriage at the starting position outside of the chamber when awaiting a cup to be placed in the cup holder by a user of the apparatus; and
a system that senses the size of a cup that is placed within the cup holder by the user, the system comprising:
a position encoder, and one or more cup size sensors, wherein the cup size is determined by referencing the position of the motor to determine a corresponding position of the carriage, and wherein the carriage position is referenced in conjunction with the time when a cup size sensor is tripped to determine the cup size.
5. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the system comprises a transmitting cup size sensor and a receiving cup size sensor, and wherein the presence of an upper portion of the cup is sensed when a beam travelling from the transmitting cup size sensor to the receiving cup size sensor is interrupted.
6. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to select a blade boring time and a water quantity for food preparation based upon the determined cup size.
7. The food preparation apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus is configured to select a blade boring speed based upon the determined cup size.
8. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive a desired food consistency from a user and to select the blade boring time andor water quantity based upon the cup size and the desired food consistency.
9. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to redundantly verify the position of the carriage as it translates up and down with one or more carriage position sensors.
10. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to abort a product preparation cycle if the cup size does not match a predetermined authorized size.
11. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to notify a user if the cup size does not match a predetermined authorized size.
12. The food preparation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to notify a remote computing device over a network connection if the cup size does not match a predetermined authorized size.
13. A food preparation apparatus, comprising:
a food preparation chamber;
a carriage comprising a cup holder;
a motor that elevates the carriage and a cup within the cup holder into the chamber from a starting position and returns the carriage and cup to the starting position;
a mechanism that opens the door of the chamber as the carriage is elevated and the cup is placed within the chamber and closes the door as the carriage is lowered to the starting position;
a microprocessor; and
a telecommunications transceiver, the apparatus configured to transmit information regarding operation of the apparatus to a remote entity via the telecommunications transceiver.
14. The food preparation apparatus of claim 13, wherein the telecommunications transceiver comprises a cellular modem.
15. The food preparation apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is configured to detect errors indicative of potential malfunction and report the errors to the remote entity.
16. The food preparation apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is configured to detect if a belt coupled to the carriage has slipped and to report it to the remote entity.
17. The food preparation apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is configured to detect if there is difficulty achieving a desired temperature or pressure and report it to the remote entity.
18. The food preparation apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is configured to detect if one or more performance parameters is not met.
19. The food preparation apparatus of claim 18, wherein one or more of the performance parameters indicates an excessively cold freezer is making product preparation more difficult and time consuming for the apparatus
20. The food preparation apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is configured to track the products made with the apparatus by type and sales volume and to report relevant information to the remote entity.
21. The food preparation apparatus of claim 20, wherein sales volume and sales type, when compared to prior sales history, is utilized to indicate a probable product type out-of-stock condition in a freezer of a retail location.
22. The food preparation apparatus of claim 20, wherein the food preparation apparatus is configured to allow the remote entity to disable the apparatus if certain product parameters or quantities are outside of expected or contracted ranges.
22. A food preparation apparatus, comprising:
a chamber comprising a door at a lower portion of the chamber, the door sealing the door to the chamber when the door is in a closed position;
a carriage comprising a cup holder;
a motor that elevates the carriage and a cup within the cup holder into the chamber from a starting position and returns the carriage and cup to the starting position; and
a flow meter coupled to a pump, the apparatus configured to measure an amount of liquid passed through the flow meter.
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the apparatus is further configured to dispense a precise amount based upon the amount measured by the flow meter.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is configured to measure and dispense a first amount into the cup when the cup in an elevated position, the first amount selected to vary based upon cup size.
25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is configured to measure and dispense a first amount into the cup when the cup in an elevated position, the first amount selected to vary based upon a selected consistency for a product within the cup.
26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is configured to measure and dispense a second amount sprayed by one or more rotary nozzles, the second amount sufficient to clean walls of the chamber.
27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the apparatus is configured to measure and dispense a third amount sprayed by one or more scour nozzles, the third amount sufficient to remove food from a boring blade of the apparatus.
28. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the flow meter is utilized to identify a problem with the operation of the water delivery system, including an insufficient flow volume or flow rate.