Patents Examined by Te Yu Chen
  • Patent number: 6578025
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing information to a plurality of users based on the relevancy of the information to the users are disclosed. An incoming message is received. Similarity scores are generated indicating similarities of the incoming message to features of a plurality of messages. Relevancy scores are generated for the plurality of users, the relevancy scores indicating relevancies of the incoming message to the plurality of users based on the similarity scores and a plurality of user profiles including information descriptive of the plurality of users' preferences for the features of the plurality of users. Message information derived from the incoming message, the relevancy scores, and the plurality of user profiles is delivered to at least some of the plurality of users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Abuzz Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jordan Pollack, Shaun Cutts, Andres Rodriguez, Jeremy Stevenson, Zak Umanoff
  • Patent number: 6564215
    Abstract: A computer system updates a data object that is maintained in data storage external to a database management system (DBMS), after receiving an update request from a DBMS client for the data object, by first scheduling the update request with the DBMS to provide access to the external data object, then initiating a subtransaction in the DBMS for the update request, updating the data object with an in-place update action at the external data storage to thereby produce an updated data object and also updating the DBMS metadata of the data object, next appending information relating to type and time of the update action in an object version table, and then executing a backup operation of the updated data object. This permits update-in-place operations on the external data object, under supervision of the DBMS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Hui-I Hsiao, Inderpal Singh Narang
  • Patent number: 6560618
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for enabling the on-demand generation, packaging, and delivery of archive files (such as cabinet, or “.cab”, files and Java archive, or “.jar”, files). This technique provides a more powerful, more flexible archive capability than the static technique of the prior art. A target server application is specified in place of a static pre-packaged archive file name, where this target will dynamically create an archive file in an application-dependent manner. Zero or more parameter name/value pairs may be specified as well, where the parameter values may be used by the target to customize the dynamic creation. Once created, archive files may optionally be cached to optimize future invocations of the archive content delivery process. Existing browser software may take advantage of the present invention without modification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Steven D. Ims
  • Patent number: 6560611
    Abstract: Methods and systems consistent with the present invention solve the limitations of current monitoring systems by automatically and completely monitoring various networks devices and services. Specifically, a network monitoring system monitors all services and conditions on various networks. Moreover, the network monitoring system may provide an advance warning of potential failures and may diagnose any problems that may surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignee: Netarx, Inc.
    Inventors: Harmon Nine, Sandy C. Kronenberg
  • Patent number: 6546401
    Abstract: Full text data is divided into words to generate word separation data. All character strings are extracted from the full text data, each character string including N characters. The word separation and position data is attached to each character string to generate index data. In word retrieving, character and segmentation agreement between query data and all character strings is checked. Word retrieving and/or character string retrieving are effected according to a selection command. The word separation data may include leading or trailing end data. In the word retrieving mode, the leading end of the first character and the trailing end of the last character are checked but the intermediate portion is not checked. Continuity of retrieve character strings is checked with reference to position data thereof. The word retrieving mode includes a number of modes including the completion agreement mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuki Iizuka, Tomoko Tanabe, Chuichi Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 6542908
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for automatically transforming software components written for stand-alone execution such that they can be executed as client/server components in a distributed network computing model. A proxy is programmatically generated when the component is requested at run-time, where the proxy has an identical interface to the actual component. This enables the remote proxy to reflect the most up-to-date version of the component, which is especially advantageous if code component interfaces are being changed over time. Furthermore, this technique enables the proxy to access the most current version of the component. (Alternatively, already-existing proxy code may be retrieved, where the proxy has been created by a developer.) Run-time information may be used to select the component to be accessed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Steven D. Ims
  • Patent number: 6490576
    Abstract: An electronic dictionary has a keyboard having a format key, a priority key, and a non-display key. Operation of the format key causes a display format for a currently displayed word to be stored in a display format storage area of a RAM. Operation of the priority key causes priorities for display of pieces of information associated with the currently displayed word to be stored in a display priority storage area of the RAM. Operation of the non-display key causes a currently displayed item that is desired not to be displayed to be stored in a non-display item storage area of the RAM. Upon operation of retrieval key, a CPU performs a display processing for displaying a retrieved word on an LCD according to the contents stored in each storage area of the RAM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2002
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinichi Nishiguchi
  • Patent number: 6470342
    Abstract: Systems and methods for supporting and maintaining a distributed global map of transaction identifiers at the gateway processes using a hashing algorithm configured on each application process to access the global maps. A global map of transaction identifiers that associates global transaction identifiers with remote local transaction identifiers is maintained at each gateway process. When an application process performing work for a particular transaction desires to export the transaction to a remote node, a hashing function configured on the application process is applied to the global transaction identifier associated with the particular transaction. Application of the hashing function to the global transaction identifier identifies one of the gateway processes. The global transaction identifier is stored to the global map associated with that gateway process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2002
    Assignee: Compaq Computer Corporation
    Inventors: Albert C. Gondi, Johannes Klein, Sitaram V. Lanka, Roger J. Hansen, Sameer Joshi
  • Patent number: 6466930
    Abstract: A data processing method evaluates expressions, including temporally-scoped operands, to produce temporally-scoped results. Each of the temporally-scoped operands and results includes a sequence of one or more value instances, each value instance including a data item, a start time, and an end time, the start time and end time defining a time span in which the data item is valid. An expression involving a binary operator is evaluated by scanning each of the operands of the binary operator and generating a value instance in the result, in respect of each time span in which each operand has a constant value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: International Computers Limited
    Inventor: Paul Anton Richardson Gardner
  • Patent number: 6438543
    Abstract: A method for coreferencing a plurality of documents includes the steps of providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced upon entry of a query by a user, sorting the names of the list of names into mergable names and exclusive sets, comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets exceeding a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list and referencing the aggregated cross-document name list to provide the user with coreferenced names across the plurality of documents which refer to a same entity in accordance with the query.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Zunaid H. Kazi, Yael Ravin
  • Patent number: 6434571
    Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for implementing meeting functions in an electronic calendar. A main meeting is scheduled. Checking for a user selected option is performed responsive to scheduling the main meeting. Responsive to an identified user selected option, a user selected meeting is scheduled with a linkage to the scheduled main meeting. The user selected option includes a pre-meeting and a post meeting. Responsive to a changed main meeting, each user selected pre-meeting and post meeting with a linkage to the scheduled main meeting is processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Roger Reinholdt Nolte
  • Patent number: 6421680
    Abstract: A search string for searching data distributed among various hosts employing different character encoding schemes or having different case-mapping capabilities is entered in a multi-field text string class. The multi-field text string class includes methods for transliterating characters within the original search string based on defined character equivalence tables. When the search string is received at a data host, a comparison is made of the operating system run on the originating data processing system, identified in a sourceVariant field of the multi-field text string class, and the operating system run on the data host, identified in a targetVariant field of the multi-field text string class. If necessary, an appropriate character equivalence table is selected and a variant of the search string is generated by transliteration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Bruce Kumhyr, John Ferguson Linton
  • Patent number: 6374264
    Abstract: A method of detecting and recovering from data corruption of a database is characterized by the step of protecting data of the database with codewords, one codeword for each region of the database; and verifying that a codeword matches associated data before the data is read from the database to prevent transaction-carried corruption. A deferred maintenance scheme is recommended for the codewords protecting the database such that the method of detecting and recovering from data corruption of a database may comprise the steps of protecting data of the database with codewords, one codeword for each region of the database; and asynchronously maintaining the codewords to improve concurrency of the database. Moreover, the database may be audited by using the codewords and noting them in a table and protecting regions of the database with latches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Philip L. Bohannon, Rajeev Rastogi, Srinivasan Seshadri, Abraham Silberschatz, Sundararajarao Sudarshan
  • Patent number: 6374233
    Abstract: A method for evaluating an expression comprises issuing parallel requests to acquire a plurality of operands. If, upon receipt of a first subset of the operands, it is determined that a second subset of the operands is no longer required in respect of a particular time span, the request for the second subset cancelled for that particular time span. If one operand contains an error indication for a particular time span, the method continues with the request for the other operand for that particular time span, and returns an “error” for that particular time span only if the request for the other operand is not cancelled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: International Computers Limited
    Inventor: Paul Anton Richardson Gardner
  • Patent number: 6366934
    Abstract: An extender for a computer-implemented relational database system is disclosed for storing, querying, and retrieving structured documents. The extender provides a new abstract data type and includes a plurality of user defined functions for storing, querying, and retrieving structured documents internally, as character-based large objects (CLOB), or externally, in flat files or URLs, for example. A method and apparatus using an extender having a “conditional select” functionality is further disclosed for querying structured documents. The “conditional select” functionality is based on user defined functions residing within the extender being applied to a projection in a structured query in the database system. A method and apparatus using an extender having a set of user defined functions is further disclosed for creating one or more indexes for structured documents stored in the relational database system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Josephine M. Cheng, Jyh-Herng Chow, Jian Xu
  • Patent number: 6360232
    Abstract: A removable media storage library comprises a plurality of removable media divided into a plurality of sets, each set associated with its own server. A central manager controls access to all of the removable media. Each of the servers and library manager contain database map information. If this information is lost, a selected disaster recovery operation may be implemented. This flexibility in selecting the type of disaster recovery operation allows for an efficient and fast disaster recovery operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Vickie Lynn Brewer, James Arthur Fisher, Gregory Tad Kishi
  • Patent number: 6349377
    Abstract: A processing device is disclosed that includes an instruction memory for storing virtual machine instructions, such as Java byte codes. A processor of the processing device includes a predetermined microcontroller core for executing native instructions from a predetermined set of microcontroller specific instructions. The native instructions differ from the virtual machine instructions. The processor may request re-feeding of a plurality of native instructions. For instance, the processor may have a pipeline and/or instruction cache which after an interrupt needs to be re-filled. The processing device includes a pre-processor with a converter for converting at least one virtual machine instruction, fetched from the instruction memory, into at least one native instruction. A feeding means of the pre-processor feeds native instructions to the microcontroller core and re-feeds native instructions in response to the processor requesting re-feeding of a number of native instructions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2002
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventor: Menno M. Lindwer
  • Patent number: 6321261
    Abstract: A method for remote constructing a Java object (114) and communicating therewith, includes the steps of first identifying a set of original methods of a Java class located in a first host address and port number (102), and generating a virtual Java class of the Java class having the set of methods and additionally a set of enhanced interface methods in the first host address and port number (102). Then a local virtual Java object (100) is created from the virtual Java class in the first host address and port number (102), and a remote Java object (114) is created from the virtual Java class by specifying the address of a second host address and port number (110) in which the created object is to reside. This method is also applicable to the remote creation of an agent, where an agent is a specialized object with mobility characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Objectspace, Inc.
    Inventor: Graham W. Glass
  • Patent number: 6298402
    Abstract: For rewriting data, which includes programs, stored in a programmable ROM, a receiving-side information processing apparatus first transfers a reception program included in the data stored in the ROM to a RAM. Control jumps to the reception program stored in the RAM, whereby reception is executed. Received data is written in the ROM according to the program stored in the RAM. The programs stored in the ROM can thus be rewritten.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2001
    Assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Kitahara, Noboru Uchida, Kazuo Kishi
  • Patent number: 6295529
    Abstract: A system is utilized for determining a relationship between first and second textual inputs. The system identifies clauses in the first textual input having predetermined characteristics indicative of usefulness in determining the relationship. The relationship is then determined based on the clauses identified. The clauses can be eliminated from the first textual input, weighted in the first textual input, or simply annotated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Simon H. Corston-Oliver, William B. Dolan