Patents by Inventor Kevin S. D. Vernon

Kevin S. D. Vernon has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7945740
    Abstract: A design structure embodied in a machine readable storage medium for designing, manufacturing, and/or testing a memory switching data processing system is provided. The memory switching data processing system includes one or more central processing units (‘CPUs’); random access memory organized in at least two banks of memory modules; one or more memory buses providing communications paths for data among the CPUs and the memory modules; and a flexibly configurable memory bus switch comprising a first configuration adapting the first CPU to a first bank of memory modules and a second CPU to a second bank of memory modules and a second configuration adapting the first CPU to both the first bank of memory modules and the second bank of memory modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Justin P. Bandholz, Zachary B. Durham, Clifton E. Kerr, Joseph E. Maxwell, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon, Philip L. Weinstein, Christopher C. West
  • Patent number: 7937537
    Abstract: A memory switching data processing system including one or more central processing units (‘CPUs’); random access memory organized in at least two banks of memory modules; one or more memory buses providing communications paths for data among the CPUs and the memory modules; and a flexibly configurable memory bus switch comprising a first configuration adapting the first CPU to a first bank of memory modules and a second CPU to a second bank of memory modules and a second configuration adapting the first CPU to both the first bank of memory modules and the second bank of memory modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Justin P. Bandholz, Zachary B. Durham, Clifton E. Kerr, Joseph E. Maxwell, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon, Philip L. Weinstein, Christopher C. West
  • Patent number: 7921315
    Abstract: Managing power consumption in a data center including reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker, the report transmitted from the circuit breaker communications device through a power supply communications device of a power supply currently providing power to a particular computing device and through an out-of-band communications link to the management module, upon receiving the report of the current power load, determining, by the management module, whether the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold; and if the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than the predetermined threshold, reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: John K. Langgood, Thomas F. Lewis, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon
  • Publication number: 20100115165
    Abstract: Data communications among electronic devices within a computer, including transmitting, from a transmitting device to a first translation device, data communications encoded according to an unreliable wireline data communications protocol; translating, by the first translation device, the data communications from the encoding of the unreliable wireline data communications protocol to an encoding of a reliable wireless data communications protocol; transmitting, by the first translation device to a second translation device, the data communications according to the reliable wireless data communications protocol; translating, by the second translation device, the data communications from the encoding of the reliable wireless data communications protocol to the encoding of the unreliable wireline data communications protocol; and transmitting, by the second translation device to a receiving device, the data communications according to the unreliable wireline data communications protocol.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2008
    Publication date: May 6, 2010
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Justin P. Bandholz, Kevin S.D. Vernon, Philip L. Weinstein
  • Publication number: 20090282274
    Abstract: Managing power consumption in a data center including reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker, the report transmitted from the circuit breaker communications device through a power supply communications device of a power supply currently providing power to a particular computing device and through an out-of-band communications link to the management module, upon receiving the report of the current power load, determining, by the management module, whether the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold; and if the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than the predetermined threshold, reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2008
    Publication date: November 12, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: John K. Langgood, Thomas F. Lewis, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon
  • Publication number: 20090281761
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and products for detecting an increase in thermal resistance of a heat sink in a computer system, the heat sink dissipating heat for a component of the computer system, the computer system including a fan controlling airflow across the heat sink, the computer system also including a temperature monitoring device, including: measuring, by a monitoring module through use of the temperature monitoring device during operation of the computer system, thermal resistance of the heat sink; determining whether the measured thermal resistance of the heat sink is greater than a threshold thermal resistance, the threshold thermal resistance stored in a thermal profile in non-volatile memory, and if the measured thermal resistance of the heat sink is greater than the threshold thermal resistance, notifying a system administrator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2008
    Publication date: November 12, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Justin P. Bandholz, Zachary B. Durham, Clifton E. Kerr, Joseph E. Maxwell, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon, Philip L. Weinstein, Christopher C. West
  • Publication number: 20090214010
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a selectively-expandable speakerphone system allows one or more portable computers to automatically, wirelessly interface with a speakerphone console via an audio access point. A scheduling module initiates the conference call at a scheduled time, whereupon the wireless network interface of each portable computer is automatically switched to an SSID uniquely associated with the audio access point, for connecting to the speakerphone console. The audio signals generated by the laptop microphones are mixed with any audio signal generated by an optional microphone on the speakerphone console, and the mixed audio signals are transmitted over the telephone line. Incoming audio signals are passed to the speakerphone console and wirelessly transmitted to the portable computers for substantially simultaneous playback on the respective loudspeakers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2008
    Publication date: August 27, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: John K. Langgood, Thomas F. Lewis, Kevin Michael Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon
  • Publication number: 20090164824
    Abstract: Administering power supplies in a data center including, upon connection of a first power supply through a power line to a circuit breaker in the data center, querying, by a power supply communications device of the first power supply through the power line, a circuit breaker communications device of the circuit breaker for a circuit breaker identification; querying, by the power supply communications device of the first power supply, for a maximum current threshold for the circuit breaker; sending the circuit breaker identification and the maximum current threshold for the circuit breaker to a management module; and determining, by the management module in dependence upon the circuit breaker identification and the maximum current threshold for the circuit breaker, whether to power on a computing device powered by the first power supply including determining whether the circuit breaker is shared by another power supply.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2007
    Publication date: June 25, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: John K. Langgood, Thomas F. Lewis, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S.D. Vernon
  • Patent number: 7545370
    Abstract: An apparatus for automatic cleaning of a portable computing device, comprises at least one display surface of a portable device, a housing in the portable computing device adjacent to the display surface, an enclosed cavity located in the housing, a cleaning device located in the enclosed cavity, a mechanism for moving the cleaning device during cleaning, and a controller to initiate the cleaning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: John K. Langgood, Thomas F. Lewis, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon
  • Publication number: 20090133010
    Abstract: The invention is directed to providing a virtualized blade flash with a management module in a blade server. A method of configuring a blade server according to an embodiment of the invention includes: providing a plurality of blades, wherein each blade comprising: a service processor; a chip set; an at least one central processing unit (CPU); providing a management module in communication with each of the plurality of blades; and adding a virtual flash store at the management module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2007
    Publication date: May 21, 2009
    Inventors: Justin P. Bandholz, Zachary B. Durham, Clifton E. Kerr, Joseph E. Maxwell, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S. D. Vernon, Phillip L. Weinstein, Christopher C. West
  • Publication number: 20090083472
    Abstract: A design structure embodied in a machine readable storage medium for designing, manufacturing, and/or testing a memory switching data processing system is provided. The memory switching data processing system includes one or more central processing units (‘CPUs’); random access memory organized in at least two banks of memory modules; one or more memory buses providing communications paths for data among the CPUs and the memory modules; and a flexibly configurable memory bus switch comprising a first configuration adapting the first CPU to a first bank of memory modules and a second CPU to a second bank of memory modules and a second configuration adapting the first CPU to both the first bank of memory modules and the second bank of memory modules.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2008
    Publication date: March 26, 2009
    Inventors: JUSTIN P. BANDHOLZ, Zachary B. Durham, Clifton E. Kerr, Joseph E. Maxwell, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S.D. Vernon, Philip L. Weinstein, Christopher C. West
  • Publication number: 20090083529
    Abstract: A memory switching data processing system including one or more central processing units (‘CPUs’); random access memory organized in at least two banks of memory modules; one or more memory buses providing communications paths for data among the CPUs and the memory modules; and a flexibly configurable memory bus switch comprising a first configuration adapting the first CPU to a first bank of memory modules and a second CPU to a second bank of memory modules and a second configuration adapting the first CPU to both the first bank of memory modules and the second bank of memory modules.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2007
    Publication date: March 26, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Justin P. Bandholz, Zachary B. Durham, Clifton E. Kerr, Joseph E. Maxwell, Kevin M. Reinberg, Kevin S.D. Vernon, Philip L. Weinstein, Christopher C. West