Patents by Inventor Robert Urquhart

Robert Urquhart 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: 6981630
    Abstract: In a powder driven fastening tool, a channel is included for feeding a strip of explosive powder cartridges to a firing mechanism. A trigger is included for actuating the firing mechanism, wherein the trigger is movable between a first position and a second position. An advancing lever is pivotally coupled to the tool, the advancing lever having a strip engagement portion for indexing the strip which extends into the channel. An advance link is cammingly engaged with the advancing lever and is operationally associated with the trigger so that the strip engagement portion is in a first position in the channel when the trigger is in the first position and so the strip engagement portion is in a second position when the trigger is in the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2006
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Michael S. Popovich, Edward D. Yates, Robert Urquhart Connell, David John McCullough
  • Publication number: 20050289307
    Abstract: A method and system for determining the memory utilization of a heap are provided. With the method and system, object allocations and optionally, possible memory freeing events are used to initiate a mark-and-count operation. The mark-and-count operation marks the live objects and maintains a running count of their memory bytes allocated to the live objects, referred to as a live count. The execution of the mark-and-count operation may be dependent upon various criteria including thresholds, functions of the live count, peak live counts, number of memory bytes allocated since a previous mark-and-count operation was performed, and the like. In addition to the live count, a total number of bytes allocated to objects may be maintained in order to obtain information regarding the heap memory utilization.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2004
    Publication date: December 29, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Phani Achanta, Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050257092
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions in a processor for selectively performing operations on data. An operation to be performed on data is identified to form an identified operation. A determination is made as to whether metadata identifying a state of the data is associated with the data. A determination is made as to whether the identified operation can be performed on the data based on the state of the data, in response to the metadata being associated with the data. The operation is performed on the data if the state of the data allows for the operation to be performed. The processor selectively performs the operations based on the state of the data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2004
    Publication date: November 17, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050251707
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions in a processor for checking assertions. A determination by the processor is made as to whether metadata for an assertion is associated with the memory location, in response to detecting a change in data in a memory location. The data to the assertion is compared by the processor, in response to the metadata being associated with the memory location. An error is generated by the processor if the assertion is invalid, with respect to the data. The processor checks the assertions for validity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2004
    Publication date: November 10, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander, Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050251706
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions in a processor for checking operations on data. A data type associated with a particular memory location is used to determine if an operation about to be performed on the data in that location is legal. If the operation requires the data to have a required data type, a determination is made as to whether the operation is a legal operation based on the identified data type and the required data type. The operation is performed if the operation is legal for the data. If the operation is not legal for the identified type, an error condition is indicated. In this manner, the processor provides checks on the operations to be performed on the data to identify legal operations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2004
    Publication date: November 10, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander, Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050246696
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions in a processor for associating a data type with a memory location. The type is associated with a location by means of metadata that is generated and manipulated by hardware instructions that are typically generated by a compiler as it generates the other instructions that comprise the machine code version of a program. A determination is made as to whether a data value about to be stored is of the required data type for that location. The hardware indicates an error condition if the types do not match.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2004
    Publication date: November 3, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander, Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210199
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing hardware assistance to prefetch data during execution of code by a process or in the data processing system. In response to loading an instruction in the code into a cache, a determination is made by a processor unit as to whether a prefetch indicator is associated with the instruction. In response to the prefetch indicator being associated with the instruction, a pointer to a data structure identified by the prefetch indicator is selectively prefetched into the cache in the processor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210198
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing hardware assistance to prefetch data during execution of code by a process or in the data processing system. In response to loading of an instruction in the code into a cache, a determination is made, by the processor unit, as to whether metadata for a prefetch is present for the instruction. In response to metadata being present for the instruction, selectively prefetching data, from within a data structure using the metadata, into the cache in a processor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210451
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for generating coverage data for accesses to dynamically allocated data during execution of code in a data processing system. In response to a request to dynamically allocate a memory area for dynamically allocated data, the memory area is dynamically allocated during execution of the code. The memory area is associated with a data access indicator in response to dynamically allocating this memory area. A determination is made as to whether an access to a memory location associated with the data access indicator has occurred, in response to executing an instruction in the code at a processor in the data processing system. If the data access indicator is associated with the memory area, a state of the data access indicator by the processor is changed when the instruction is executed. The coverage data for the dynamically allocated data is generated during execution of the code by the processor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210439
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for presenting coverage data relating to data access occurring during execution of code. The coverage data containing data access indicators associated with memory locations is obtained. The data access indicators that have been set by a processor in the data processing system in response to access of the memory locations during execution of the code by the processor are identified to form set data access indicators. Each set instruction access indicator is associated with a portion of the memory locations allocated for the code. A presentation for coverage data is generated, wherein the set data access indicators are identified in the presentation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210450
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for generating coverage data for accesses to data during execution of code in the data processing system. During execution of the code, a determination is made as to whether an access to a memory location associated with a data access indicator has occurred in response to executing an instruction in the code at a processor in the data processing system. If the data access indicator is associated with the memory location, a state of the access indicator is changed by the processor. The coverage data is generated during execution of the code by the processor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210339
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for presenting coverage data for code. The coverage data containing instruction access indicators associated with the code is obtained. Particular instruction access indicators that have been set by a processor in the data processing system in response to execution of the code by the processor are identified to form set instruction access indicators. Each set instruction access indicator is associated with a portion of the code. A presentation for the coverage data is generated. The set instruction access indicators are identified in the presentation. This presentation may be, for example, a graphical presentation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210454
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for determining computer flows autonomically using hardware assisted thread stack and cataloged symbolic data. When a new thread is spawned during execution of a computer program, new thread work area is allocated by the operating system in memory for storage of call stack information for the new thread. Hardware registers are set with values corresponding to the new thread work area. Upon context switch, values of the registers are saved in a context save area for future restoration. When call stack data is post-processed, the operating system or a device driver copies call stack data from the thread work areas to a consolidated buffer and each thread is mapped to a process. Symbolic data may be obtained based on the process identifier and address of the method/routine that was called/returned in the thread. Corresponding program flow is determined using retrieved symbolic data and call stack data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jimmie DeWitt, Frank Levine, Christopher Richardson, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050210452
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for generating coverage data during execution of code in the data processing system. During execution of the code, a determination is made as to whether an access indicator is associated with an instruction in response to executing the instruction in the code by a processor in the data processing system. If the access indicator is associated with the instruction, a state of the access indicator is changed, by the processor, when the instruction is executed. In this manner, coverage data for executed instructions is generated by the processor during execution of the code.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2004
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050183070
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for averaging out variations from run to run of a computer program are provided. With the apparatus and method, call trees are generated for two or more executions of a build of a computer program. The apparatus and method perform a “tree-addition” operation in which the two or more call trees generated during runs of the computer program are added to one another to thereby accumulate statistics for each call in the call trees. These statistics may then be divided by the number of runs whose tree data structures are being accumulated. In this way, an average of the tree data structures is generated. In addition, any portions of the tree data structure that are due to asynchronous events are averaged out so that their relative affect in the resulting tree data structure is minimized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2004
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander, Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050183074
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for identifying differences in runs of a computer program that are due to changes in the code of the computer program. With the apparatus and method, call trees are generated for two or more builds of a computer program. The apparatus and method perform a “tree-subtract” operation in which the two or more call trees generated during runs of two or more different builds of a computer program are subtracted from one another to identify build to build differences in the execution of the computer program. From the resulting tree, portions of the runs of the different builds of the computer program where the resource utilization of the computer program has not changed are easily identifiable. Moreover, portions of the runs of the different builds of the computer program where there are improvements or regressions in resource utilization of the computer program may be easily identifiable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2004
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander, Robert Dimpsey, Kean Kuiper, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050183067
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatically performing regression processing on trace data are provided. With the apparatus and method, call tree data structures are generated for two or more executions of two or more builds of a computer program. The apparatus and method perform a “tree-minimization” operation on each set of call tree data structures for each of the builds to generate minimized call tree data structures for each build of the computer program. The minimized call tree data structures are then subtracted from one another to generate a subtracted minimized call tree data structure. From this subtracted minimized call tree data structure, the portions of the computer program that are different from build to build and which appreciably and consistently affect the difference in execution of the computer program from build to build may be identified.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2004
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050183075
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for identifying a minimum call tree data structure from a plurality of call tree data structures are provided. With the apparatus and method, call tree data structures are generated for two or more executions of a build of a computer program. The apparatus and method perform a “tree-minimization” operation in which the two or more call trees generated during runs of the computer program are walked and only those nodes that are present in each of the tree data structures are maintained in a minimized tree data structure. In addition, the minimum values for these common nodes are maintained in the minimized tree data structure. In this way, asynchronous events are removed from the minimum tree data structure and analysis may focus on those areas of the computer program that are consistent between runs of the computer program.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2004
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander, Robert Dimpsey, Frank Levine, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050154839
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions in a data processing system for processing instructions are provided. Instructions are received at a processor in the data processing system. If a selected indicator is associated with the instruction, counting of each event associated with the execution of the instruction is enabled. In some embodiments, the performance indicators may be utilized to obtain information regarding the nature of the cache hits and reloads of cache lines within the instruction or data cache. These embodiments may be used to determine whether processors of a multiprocessor system, such as a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system, are truly sharing a cache line or if there is false sharing of a cache line. This determination may then be used as a means for determining how to better store the instructions/data of the cache line to prevent false sharing of the cache line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2004
    Publication date: July 14, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jimmie DeWitt, Frank Levine, Christopher Richardson, Robert Urquhart
  • Publication number: 20050155025
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for local program reorganization using branch count per instruction hardware. In a preferred embodiment, a hardware counter is used in the present invention to count the number of times a branch is taken when branch instructions are executed. Branch count statistics generated from the hardware counters are available to a program in order to analyze whether code reorganization is necessary. If reorganization is necessary, the program autonomically reorganizes instructions locally at run time to allow more instructions to be executed prior to taking a branch, so that the number of branches taken is minimized without modifying underlying program code.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2004
    Publication date: July 14, 2005
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jimmie DeWitt, Frank Levine, Christopher Richardson, Robert Urquhart